Wahid impeached but impervious

JAKARTA - Apart from the little spot of bother in the afternoon, Monday was a routine day for Abdurrahman Wahid.

He rose at 4 am, as he always does, and said his prayers in the mosque attached to the presidential palace. He ate a lunch of soybeans and fruit, a special diet designed to alleviate his diabetes. He "laughed and joked" over the meal, said his spokesman, and then took a post-prandial snooze before the afternoon's business.

In the evening, he went out on to the front steps in T-shirt, shorts and sandals, and waved affectionately at the 300 or so people peering in.

It was an extraordinary and historic day for Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world. In the space of a few minutes, the nation's first democratically elected President became the first one to be impeached, and the Vice-President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, became the first woman to take over.

But the most bizarre thing of all is that last night the man at the centre of it was still pretending that he had not been toppled.



Abandoned by his own military and sacked by the Parliament that elected him, Wahid had no way physically to challenge his impeachment. His threats to bring his many followers out in violent protests were unfulfilled.

His final days were a pathetic coda to a brilliant career. In 1999, ethnic conflict and separatist movements in the provinces of Aceh, West Papua and Maluku were causing alarm throughout the region.

As the leader of the country's most popular political party, Megwati was the favourite to be elected president after democratic elections. But when Wahid unexpectedly won, after a series of brilliant political manoeuvres, there were great reasons for optimism.

He was already famous as the leader of the 40 million-strong Muslim organisation Nahdlatul Ulama, one of the biggest religious organisations in the world.

Unlike many politically active Muslims in Indonesia, Wahid is a tolerant and secular intellectual. With his wit, informality and tolerance he seemed to promise a new start for Southeast Asia's most troubled country.

But physically he was an unlikely head of state. At the age of 61, he is virtually blind, diabetic and has suffered a number of strokes.

"Within three months, it was clear that it was a mistake," says Subagio Anam, of Megwati's Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P), who began as a supporter of Wahid. "Because of his strokes his behaviour was unpredictable. He couldn't work with anyone. In 18 months he fired 25 ministers."

His stubbornness and disdain towards the Parliament quickly made him enemies. He was accused of relying too much on a small circle of advisers and relatives. on whom he depended to read to him state documents. And he seemed incapable of developing policies to salvage the economy and to bring peace to the provinces.

To everyone else, his political demise had been a foregone conclusion for weeks.

- INDEPENDENT

Feature: Indonesia

CIA World Factbook: Indonesia (with map)

Dept. of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

Antara news agency

Indonesian Observer

The Jakarta Post

UN Transitional Administration in E Timor

East Timor Action Network