Megawati Faces Tough First Day in OfficeIndonesia's new President Megawati Sukarnoputri spent her first day in office on Tuesday with her predecessor and erstwhile friend still refusing to budge from the presidential palace.Abdurrahman Wahid, shocked over his sacking for incompetence by the top assembly on Monday, was still holed up at the sprawling colonial-era palace in central Jakarta. "We will try gradually (to get Wahid to leave) as everything cools down," top Megawati aide Bambang Kesowo told reporters, adding that Wahid would "probably" leave this week. Megawati, apparently keen to avoid confrontation and inflame Wahid's millions of followers, has been holding meetings in the vice-presidential office, her former workplace. Megawati, the daughter of founding President Sukarno, is expected to name a cabinet within days and start tackling the political and economic woes that have made Indonesia one of Asia's most unstable and ungovernable states. Foreign leaders, especially of Jakarta's anxious neighbors, have welcomed Megawati's promotion from vice president and also praised the peaceful transition in the world's fourth most populous nation, more used to bloodshed when changing leaders. Indonesia's 210 million people have also breathed a sigh of relief over the fact that the violence many feared would accompany Wahid's fall has failed to erupt. Jakarta was quiet early on Tuesday. So too was Wahid's heartland in East Java, where some of his supporters have pledged to die for him but where Islamic leaders have urged calm. Some 100-200 Wahid supporters from East Java camped out at a mosque near the palace overnight but said they wanted no trouble. |
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