Leaders Defy Wahid, Convene to Oust Him

In a desperate attempt to hold on to power, President Abdurrahman Wahid issued an emergency decree early today “freezing” the nation’s highest governing body as it prepared to vote him out of office.

As the nation plunged into a constitutional crisis, leaders of the People’s Consultative Assembly defied the president’s directive, convened within hours and prepared to dismiss him.

Police and military generals who had been ordered by the president to enforce the decree refused to prevent the session from taking place and instead stationed 6,000 troops outside the meeting hall to protect the assembly from any disturbance.

Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said he expected that Wahid would be removed from office by midday and that Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of former President Sukarno, would be sworn in as Indonesia’s new president before the day was over.

“It is a foregone conclusion that Mr. Wahid will be dismissed as the president,” Rais told reporters at a 3 a.m. news conference.

After months of political stalemate, the rapid-fire developments threaten to create a situation in which both Wahid and Megawati, once good friends, will claim to be Indonesia’s legitimate president.

While the military is likely to side with Megawati, some elements of the police may remain loyal to Wahid.

Wahid has repeatedly warned that his backers could erupt in violence if he were removed from office before the end of his five-year term. Similarly, he has asserted that some outlying provinces would declare their independence if he were ousted.

In a speech Sunday evening, he cited the potential breakup of Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most-populous country, as the reason he must act to dismiss the assembly.

“It is clear that they want to force me from my duties as president,” Wahid said. “The problem is if I am forced to resign, a number of provinces will clearly separate themselves from the unity of Indonesia. I must protect the integrity of the nation.”

There were no signs of protest in Jakarta, the capital, or other parts of the country, although six of Wahid’s Cabinet ministers reportedly resigned after he issued his order.

The Supreme Court sent a letter to the assembly declaring that the decree was illegal. The assembly voted 599 to 2 to reject the presidential order.

As the body debated the motion to oust Wahid, his spokesman said the president had no intention of vacating the presidential palace if he loses.

“Yes, he’ll stay,” spokesman Yahya Staquf told reporters. “The president considers the decree he issued as a jihad [holy war] to save the state.”

Military Seen a Likely Winner

Human rights activists said the biggest winner from the crisis is likely to be the once-powerful and ruthless military, which has struck up an alliance with Megawati.

After months of threats, Wahid issued his decree shortly after 1 a.m. The order “freezes” all activity of the assembly, parliament and the Golkar Party, once the party of former military dictator Suharto and a consistent Wahid foe. The decree also calls for new elections within a year.

In addition, the president directed the military and police to enforce the decree and ensure the unity of the country. He stopped short of declaring a state of emergency, which would have given the generals additional authority.

Critics said the president had no constitutional basis for the decree. Wahid said he was acting “with a heavy heart.”

Earlier, he had hinted that a political showdown was coming. “There will be a battle of power,” he said Sunday evening. “Let’s see who is stronger.”

Wahid, who was widely hailed as a democratic leader when he became president, now stands accused of acting like his predecessor, Suharto. “This is the attitude of an authoritarian person . . . the action of a dictator,” said parliament Speaker and Golkar Party leader Akbar Tanjung.

Wahid was an unlikely choice for president when he was selected by the assembly in October 1999. Although he was a revered Muslim cleric, his party had won only 10% of the vote in parliamentary elections. Nearly blind from diabetes, he has suffered at least two strokes and walks with difficulty.

However, he outmaneuvered Megawati, whose party had placed first in the voting. Wahid won in part by playing on Muslim antipathy toward the idea of a female president.

Support for the erratic Wahid soon eroded, and members of parliament began calling for his removal.

Indonesia’s constitution, approved in 1945 during Sukarno’s time, makes it difficult to remove a president by creating numerous procedural obstacles.

The drive to oust Wahid began in earnest in February, when parliament first censured him for his alleged role in two corruption scandals. After two subsequent censure votes, the corruption allegations became the basis for convening the People’s Consultative Assembly.

The 700-member assembly, which includes all of parliament’s 500 members, is the nation’s highest constitutional body and has the power to dismiss as well as to elect the president.

There is no evidence that Wahid profited personally from the $6 million allegedly misused in the two scandals. Then-Atty. Gen. Marzuki Darusman concluded earlier this year that the president had not committed a crime.

Since then, the president’s enemies have focused more on Wahid’s competence--in particular his ineffectiveness in coping with the armed rebellions and economic hardship plaguing the country.

The assembly had called on Wahid to address the body today and account for his actions, as set out in the constitution. If the assembly had rejected the president’s speech, he would have been removed from office.

Wahid, however, maintained that the assembly was convened unconstitutionally and that he was not required to give a speech explaining his actions until the end of his five-year term. He said he would not address the body and repeatedly threatened to declare a state of emergency to prevent the assembly from convening.

“I’ve decided I’m not coming because the special session is illegal,” Wahid said Sunday evening.

President Has Become Increasingly Isolated

In recent weeks, Wahid has become increasingly isolated. He has lost the backing of key supporters, including the leader of his own parliamentary faction. In addition, the 38 members of parliament who represent the military voted unanimously against Wahid on Saturday for the first time when they cast their ballots in favor of accelerating the special session.

Members of parliament said it was clear that Wahid would not have had a chance of surviving the assembly session even if he had not issued his decree.

“Since he does not want to explain his rule and moreover he does not want to attend, then that’s it,” delegate Slamet Effendy Yusuf said before Wahid issued his order. “It means the president is going to be dismissed.”

At one point Sunday, 2,000 troops took up positions near the presidential palace in a show of force apparently aimed at discouraging Wahid from declaring a state of emergency.

An hour after Wahid issued the decree, Jakarta Police Chief Sofyan Jacoeb ordered his forces to ignore the presidential order and protect the assembly.

Sari Sudarsono of The Times’ Jakarta Bureau contributed to this report.