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SBY blames press for Dems chaos

The Democratic Party’s (PD) chief patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, blamed his party’s recent troubles on the media and outsiders who were scheming to divide and destroy the party

Adianto P. Simamora (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, July 12, 2011

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SBY blames press for Dems chaos

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he Democratic Party’s (PD) chief patron, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, blamed his party’s recent troubles on the media and outsiders who were scheming to divide and destroy the party.

Yudhoyono said “invisible hands” had spread text messages containing libelous statements and false allegations with the intention of ruining the party’s reputation.

The President said that the party had become a foil for the media and the victim of an unhealthy political climate over the past two months.

“The Democratic Party feels the political developments in the country have been unhealthy. One or two [specific] events, in the party’s eyes, have been unchivalrous politics.”

The media continued to discredit the Democratic Party with reporting based only on text messages and BlackBerry messages, Yudhoyono said at a speech given outside his home in Cikeas, West Java on Monday evening.

The President was referring to media reports based on text messages apparently sent by fugitive graft suspect and former party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin that alleged that several top Democratic leaders were involved in graft.

Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum and advisory board deputy chairman Marzuki Alie, also the House of Representatives speaker, stood behind Yudhoyono during the speech.

Yudhoyono said that thousands of text messages claiming the party would hold an extraordinary meeting to oust Anas were sent by unidentified sources to divide the party.

Yudhoyono said there would be no extraordinary meeting. “There will, however, be a national coordinating meeting,” he said, slated for the end of this month.

The President dismissed rumors that Anas planned to topple him as the advisory board chairman. “It is a big lie,” he said. “I’m concerned with the current political condition. . . It is divide and conquer, as in colonial times.”

“I hope my party members will not be so easily pitted against each other on any kind of talk shows...,” he added.

Over the weekend a text message from Marzuki to Yudhoyono was made public, saying that the chief patron must take decisive action to save the party. Marzuki said he was concerned with party politicians who had attacked each other on a recent TVOne talkshow.

TVOne is owned by the Bakrie family. Golkar Party chairman Aburizal “Ical” Bakrie plays a major role in the family company.

The President also said there was a smear campaign aimed at convincing young people that Democratic Party members were above the law, especially in graft cases.

“I hope no parties are fishing in murky waters...The party’s members and I want very much for Nazaruddin to be brought home for the legal process.”

Yudhoyono said the party would take action against members for ethics violations, and especially for graft allegations, at the national coordinating meeting.

Nazaruddin, named a suspect in bribery allegations surrounding the construction of the athletes’ dormitory for the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, reportedly left Indonesia to fly to Singapore to seek medical care shortly after the bribery case emerged.

Since his departure members of the media have received numerous BlackBerry messages from a person claiming to be Nazaruddin containing bribery allegations implicating several high-ranking members of the Democratic Party, including Anas.

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