INDONESIA: INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ABDURRAHMAN WAHID DELAYS ANY DECISION ON DECLARING A CIVIL EMERGENCY

Record ID: 443019

  • Title: INDONESIA: INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ABDURRAHMAN WAHID DELAYS ANY DECISION ON DECLARING A CIVIL EMERGENCY
  • Date: 20th July 2001
  • Summary: (W3) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JULY 20, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. SV/MCU INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ABDURRAHMAN WAHID WALKING INTO MOSQUE; WAHID PRAYING (3 SHOTS) 0.22 (W5) JAKARTA (JULY 20 2001) (REUTERS) 2. MCU (Bahasa) WAHID SAYING "The political compromise that is needed to solve the crisis has already taken too long. Therefore we have to be ready to implement the state of emergency at July 31 at six o'clock, if there is no compromise". 1.03 3. SV/SLV OF PRESS (2 SHOTS) 1.13 4. MCU (Bahasa) WAHID SAYING "I see the swearing in of Chairuddin Ismail, as acting Commander of the Police as a win-win solution with the Parliament (DPR) for technical reasons". 1.53 5. SLV OF LEGISLATORS WATCHING WAHID ADDRESS 1.57 6. MCU/SV/SLV AMIEN RAIS, OPPONENT OF WAHID, SEATED; MORE OF LEGISLATORS WATCHING ADDRESS; LEGISLATOR; LEGISLATORS WATCHING (5 SHOTS) 2.17 7. SV OF PRESS 2.21 8. SV AMIEN RAIS AT PRESS CONFERENCE 2.26 9. MCU (Bahasa) AMIEN RAIS SAYING "God willing, the decision of the (assembly) leaders will be to hold a special (impeachment) session at 9:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m. (on Saturday)". 2.48 10. SV OF AMIEN RAIS AT PRESS CONFERENCE 2.56 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 4th August 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVA8CHA4W1410D9EL40MA2XOZFKV
  • Story Text: Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has delayed any
    decision on declaring a civil emergency to July 31 to allow
    more time to thrash out a compromise to save his job. In
    response, the head of the upper house of parliament stated
    that it could begin an impeachment hearing as early as
    Saturday (July 21) morning.



    The President's statement on Friday (July 20) came amid
    tensions with the top assembly, which had threatened a snap
    impeachment session if he carried out his threat to declare a
    civil emergency on Friday.

    "We have to be ready to implement the state of emergency
    at July 31 at six o'clock if there is no compromise," Wahid
    said in a brief statement at the palace at his self-imposed
    deadline of 6:00 p.m. (1100 GMT).

    Wahid has been using the emergency threat -- which allows
    an early election and grants him wideranging powers -- to try
    to fend off a push by the supreme People's Consultative
    Assembly (MPR) to sack him over his chaotic 21-month rule.

    However, key army and police generals have warned they would
    not carry out such an order, throwing serious doubt over what
    impact the civil emergency measure would have.

    After watching the President's broadcast on state
    television, Amien Rais,the head of Indonesia's top legislature
    and one of Wahid's fiercest critics said an impeachment
    hearing against the president might be held as early as
    Saturday morning.

    A stern-faced Amien Rais called Wahid's appointment of
    Chairuddin Ismail as acting commander of the police a "trick",
    adding a final decision on when to hold the impeachment
    hearing would be announced around 8:30 p.m. (1330 GMT).

    "God willing, the decision of the (assembly) leaders will
    be to hold a special (impeachment) session at 9:00 a.m. or
    10:00 a.m. (on Saturday)," Rais told reporters.

    "The swearing in of the deputy police chief Chairuddin to
    become the temporary police chief is just a trick."
    While legislators have been homing in on Wahid's erratic
    21-month performance, the furore surrounding the national
    police chief has become the latest trigger to hold an early
    impeachment hearing, currently scheduled for August 1.


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