PALOH DENIES NATIONAL DEMOCRAT TO BECOME POLITICAL PARTY

Jakarta, Feb 1 (ANTARA) - The initiator of the National Democrat organization , Surya Paloh, had denied that the body would later become a political party.

"We have not thought that far. To set up a political party is very easy. It can even be done over a coffee party. The National Democrat organization is different," he said flanked by co-initiator Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono after the declaration of the new organization here on Monday.

Paloh, who is a media mogul , said the National Democrat will focus a community change for a better future. It will mobilize the spirit like the one shown by the people during the Ganefo (Games of the New Emerging Forces) in 1962.

Sri Sultan who is also the governor of Yogyakarta meanwhile said that the organization will also have regional and even village-level chapters. It will carry not only national but also local programs, he said.

Paloh in his speech at the declaration said 47 years ago Bung Karno (first president) established a Ganefo in response to the International Olympics Committee's decision to oust the country it considered having mixed politics and sports.

Bung Karno, however, considered sports as part of the strategy for the country's political struggle.

At the time the nationalist sentiment in Indonesia was very strong. "We are again recalled to when Bung Karno spoke in front of the UN General Assembly calling for us to build the world anew full of peace and prosperity," he said.

In his speech at the UN Bung Karno called for freedom from exploitation and colonialization. "Bung Karno rekindled the spirit of struggle in various places. All people felt being called and believed that under Bung Karno the nation won respect from across the world," he said.

Paloh said the National Democrat is a forum for mustering potentials, spirit and hope for fulfilling the country's independence.

"If Bung Karno came with a fighting spirit against injustice we who have better conditions must also have that spirit," he said.

Paloh said there had been paradoxes in the life of the people. "We are still left far behind. This certainly will not give us optimism. Thirteen years after reform hope is not yet seen. What has happened. The fact is we have not yet experienced justice, relief and better welfare," he said.

After 13 years of reform he said the country could not yet be able to realize what people had expected. "We have been trapped in differences. We are growing more selfish. We cannot show solidarity and strengthen unity. We do not have strong self-confidence and cannot put national interests above individual interests," he said.

As a result, he said, the poor remains poor and the rich remains rich and "the dumb remains dumb," he said.

According to the two initiators the National Democrat will enlighten the burden of the people and not the other way round.