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Wahid's Arrest of Police Chief Denied
Paramilitary officers and armored cars guarded the homes of Indonesia's two top police commanders Thursday in defiance of demands by President Abdurrahman Wahid that they be arrested.
Wahid has accused the national police chief, Gen. Suroyo Bimantoro, and Jakarta's police chief, Maj. Gen. Sofyan Yacob, of plotting against him ahead of next month's impeachment proceedings.
Dozens of police, armed with automatic weapons and backed up by U.S.-made World War II-era armored cars, went to the two commanders' homes at sunset.
A senior officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they would not allow their chiefs to be taken into custody. A senior Cabinet minister also refused to carry out Wahid's arrest order.
Bimantoro and Yacob �� who are accused of insubordination and planning the president's detention �� denied the charges.
The president, who is fighting allegations of corruption and incompetence, seems almost certain to be ousted by the national assembly when its convenes on Aug. 1.
There are fears that violence could erupt before and after the impeachment hearing. An explosion near the Parliament on Wednesday night injured at least 14 people.
Underscoring Wahid's waning political power, security and defense minister Agum Gumelar, who was ordered by the president to act against the two commanders, said he had no legal right to arrest them and would instead try to negotiate an end to the standoff.
Within hours of the police show of force, State Secretary Marzuki Darusman appeared to back away from earlier statements by two presidential spokesmen who announced the arrest plan.
``Up until now, the president has never given an effective order to arrest Bimantoro,'' Darusman said. He admitted that Wahid suggested Tuesday that the two commanders be taken into custody, but said Gumelar rejected the idea.
Bimantoro, who was in neighboring Singapore on Thursday for a medical checkup, triggered a split within police ranks when he refused to step down after Wahid fired him on June 1.
He and Yacob raised the president's ire when they openly opposed Wahid's plan to declare a state of emergency and dissolve the assembly before it begins the impeachment proceedings.
Wahid has threatened to invoke emergency rule after July 20 unless hostile lawmakers drop their campaign to oust him.
Wahid's probable successor, Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, added to the pressure on the head of state by saying Thursday that he should be made accountable to the assembly.
With fears rising of a possible police mutiny, parliamentary speaker Akbar Tandjung accused Wahid of behaving recklessly.
Bimantoro infuriated Wahid last month when he declared that the president did not have the power to dismiss him without the approval of Parliament. Many senior lawmakers have backed his stand against Wahid, who they claim is acting erratically as pressure against him mounts.
Wahid has warned that his ouster could trigger a wave of bloody unrest and national disintegration.
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