Megawati's party for advancing session

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, JULY 15. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI- P), headed by the Vice-President, Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, has supported the idea of bringing forward the August 1 special session of Parliament if the President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, goes ahead with his threat to impose a state of emergency on July 20.

Ms. Megawati and her party, who have so far been quite restrained and proper in their statements, seem to be aware that the mercurial President could go ahead with his emergency threat and, so, have agreed to advance the August 1 session if required.

``We support MPR (People's Consultative Assembly) in bringing forward the special session... if we deem that the fate of the nation is being directly or indirectly threatened by the President's policies,'' Mr. Theo Sjafei, a PDI-P official, was quoted as saying in Jakarta.

``We expect the special session to result in a legitimate and effective Government, one from collusion, corruption and nepotism and able to bring the country out of its current confusion,'' Mr. Theo maintained.

The party authorised Ms. Megawati, who is likely to become President in case Mr. Wahid is removed from office, to take any decisions during the special session.

The party also warned politicians to ``avoid violence when seeking solutions to the country's problems. The party also asks MPR members to conduct themselves as statesmen who put the people's interest before their own.

``We also ask security personnel, at all levels, to maintain security and order before, during and after the special session,'' Mr. Theo added.

The PDI-P Secretary-General, Mr. Soetjipto, played down rumours of a rift within the party. ``Many say there is friction among our members, both in the House (of Representatives) and the Assembly (DPR)... I'm quite sure that all of us will remain solid to fight together at the special session.''

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Section  : International
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