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Lawmakers Demand Censure On Wahid
With rival protesters brawling outside parliament, lawmakers on Thursday demanded that Indonesia's president be made to answer for two corruption scandals.
The legislature's actions could further destabilize President Abdurrahman Wahid's crisis-ridden government and possibly lead to his eventual impeachment. A vote on whether to formalize the censure of Wahid was expected later Thursday.
Wahid has denied the corruption charges and insists the legislature has no right to question his actions.
Some 10,000 protesters, most calling for Wahid to resign, took to the streets. Some fought with small groups of pro-Wahid supporters outside the heavily guarded parliament.
Earlier this week a report by a parliamentary committee implicated Wahid in the two multimillion-dollar scandals, but presented no evidence against him.
It claimed Wahid was involved in the illegal transfer of $4 million from the coffers of the state food agency, Bulog, by a former business associate of the president. The report also accused him of failing to officially declare a $2 million donation from Sultan Hasanal Bolkiah, the ruler of neighboring oil-rich Brunei.
A showdown between the legislature and the president seemed inevitable Thursday after the three largest parties in the assembly demanded he be forced to explain his role in the affairs.
``The house must send a formal reprimand to the president,'' said Laksamana Sukardi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. It has the most seats in the parliament and is headed by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Wahid's possible successor.
Under Indonesian law, Wahid -- Indonesia's first democratically elected head of state in 45 years -- would have three months to respond. If he doesn't, according to the constitution they can initiate impeachment proceedings.
Meanwhile, thousands of anti-Wahid students gathered at nearby Trisakti University, a hotbed of dissent in the dying days of the dictatorship of former President Suharto, who quit amid protests and riots in 1998.
``Wahid is corrupt. He must resign,'' said Anwar Arif, who was among about 2,000 student protesters ready to march on parliament from another campus at the University of Indonesia.
At the presidential palace, Wahid met senior Cabinet ministers, including Defense Minister Mohamad Mahfud, who has warned that the military could intervene if protests escalate.
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