President of Indonesia Alleges Plot

President Abdurrahman Wahid said Friday that a senior military officer has been plotting against him in an attempt to undermine his administration.

Wahid said he had evidence that a regional army commander was “gathering strength to use against me.” He did not identify the person but said he would fire him unless the commander stopped scheming against the government.

“I am serious about this,” he said after customary Friday prayers at a mosque in southern Jakarta.

It was the second time this week that Wahid, who took office last October, has said that factions of the armed forces were trying to undermine his efforts to implement democratic reform. Similar comments Tuesday left the nation guessing as to the identity of the plotters. Even Wahid’s closest aides and national military commanders said they had no idea to whom he was referring.

In Aceh, local leaders expressed hope that the quarter-century civil war in the western province might be coming to an end.

The comments came a day after a surprise meeting between a presidential envoy and a rebel commander. Free Aceh Movement military commander Abdullah Syafei and State Secretary Bondan Gunawan, a close associate of Wahid, discussed federal security forces’ ongoing campaign to stamp out the insurgency.

The meeting was held in the town of Sigli, about 50 miles east of the regional capital, Banda Aceh.

Gunawan said he and Syafei had agreed to try to spare noncombatants from the conflict that has killed thousands, including many civilians.

“The meeting was to get to know each other,” Gunawan said. “Both of us don’t like violence. We agreed not to make the people victims.”

Another rebel leader, Teuku Maulida, said Thursday: “We welcome the meeting of the two. We hope it paves the way for negotiations and for a peaceful settlement.”

Aceh, a province of 4.1 million people, is located on the northern tip of Sumatra island.