Wahid Calls for CompromiseIndonesia's president Friday gave the national assembly one week to drop plans to impeach him, but failed to say what he might do if hostile lawmakers ignored his demand.Earlier, President Abdurrahman Wahid said he would take ``stern action'' to maintain national unity and called on his opponents to negotiate an end to the nation's political crisis. ``I will give them until Friday. After that we will see what happens,'' Wahid said after weekly prayers at a Jakarta mosque. ``The government is working hard to handle the security problem so that the political situation can be stabilized,'' he said. Recently, Wahid has repeatedly threatened to declare a state of emergency and close down the country's two main legislatures in his bid to stave off impeachment. The military and some senior Cabinet ministers have openly opposed such a move and have forced him at least twice to back down. Without their support there is little likelihood that Wahid, a nearly blind Muslim cleric, could rule by emergency decree. |
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