INDONESIA: HEAD OF INDONESIA'S TOP ASSEMBLY SAYS PRESIDENT WAHID IS "FINISHED" AS IMPEACHMENT VOTE LOOMS.
Record ID:
443026
INDONESIA: HEAD OF INDONESIA'S TOP ASSEMBLY SAYS PRESIDENT WAHID IS "FINISHED" AS IMPEACHMENT VOTE LOOMS.
- Title: INDONESIA: HEAD OF INDONESIA'S TOP ASSEMBLY SAYS PRESIDENT WAHID IS "FINISHED" AS IMPEACHMENT VOTE LOOMS.
- Date: 22nd July 2001
- Summary: (W3) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JULY 21, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. GV/PAN: INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ABDURRAHMAN WAHID ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE 0.13 2. CU: (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) INDONESIAN PRESIDENT ABDURRAHMAN WAHID SAYING "Because the MPR (session) is illegal, automatically I will having nothing to report to. Also I will not give any account about my actions, because it (the MPR session) violates the constitution." 0.28 3. GV: WAHID DURING NEWS CONFERENCE 0.31 4. LAS: HEAD OF ASSEMBLY AMIEN RAIS SITTING 0.38 5. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF ASSEMBLY AMIEN RAIS SAYING "In this kind of situation, Gus Dur (Wahid) is finished. It is much better for him if he resigns. Because if he is impeached, there will be legal consequences. He might be brought to the court, to be held responsible for what he has done during his presidency. But if he resigns I think the people will forgive him. The nation will be thankful to him and the nation will also forgive him. (Asked: SO THERE IS NO MIRACLE FOR GUS DUR AT THE LAST MINUTE?) No, no, no, I don't see miracle at all. He's finished" 1.15 6. MV: RAIS 1.17 7. MCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) RAIS SAYING "Nobody will pay any attention to his decree. I believe the police and military will ignore his decree on whatever issue. I mean, the decree will have no meaning at all. He's a lameduck president. He is going to be impeached, that's for sure. So if in three or four days before his impeachment, he makes a decree on the emergency state of the country, I think people will laugh" 1.57 8. GV/MV: OFFICIALS WRITING NUMBERS ON WHITE BOARD DURING VOTING AT PARLIAMENT (2 SHOTS) 2.09 9. GV: PARLIAMENTARIANS STANDING UP TO CAST THEIR VOTES TO PROCEED WITH THE SPECIAL SESSION 2.18 10. MCU: OFFICIAL WRITING DOWN TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES 2.25 11. GV: MORE OF PARLIAMENT IN SESSION 2.30 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 6th August 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Reuters ID: LVACI171QC3RKXI0C323LP6Z0PBP
- Story Text: The head of Indonesia's top assembly, Amien Rais, has
said that President Abdurrahman Wahid is wasting his energy
trying to stop the tide that will bring him down "I don't see
a miracle at all," he said. "He's finished".
Wahid, speaking after the assembly decided to go ahead
with an impeachment procedure, was defiant on Saturday (July
21), saying the process was illegal.
The assembly, known as the People's Consultative Committee
(MPR) session has summoned Wahid to appear on Monday to answer
charges of corruption and incompetence.
The President says he will not go. "Because the MPR
(session) is illegal, automatically I will having nothing to
report to," Wahid said.
He repeated his threat to declare a state of emergency.
But the ailing Muslim cleric does not appear to have any
powerful friends, neither within the MPR nor within the army.
His near total political isolation means he is almost
certain to be impeached.
Key generals have publicly opposed the idea of declaring a
state of emergency, while legislators have said they would
ignore it.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters Television, MPR
chief Amien Rais, who engineered Wahid's surprise election in
October 1999, said the president - nicknamed Gus Dur - has no
hope of winning the impeachment process.
He urged Wahid to resign, saying Vice President Megawati
Sukarnoputri would make a better leader.
"In this kind of situation, Gus Dur is finished. It is
much better for him if he resigns. Because if he is impeached,
there will be legal consequences. He might be brought to the
court, to be held responsible for what he has done during his
presidency.
"But if he resigns I think the people will forgive him.
The nation will be thankful to him and the nation will also
forgive him. I don't see miracle at all. He's finished," Rais
said.
But Wahid has tens of thousands of supporters, most of
them based in East Java.
Indonesia has never had a peaceful transfer of power in
its short modern history.
Saturday's MPR session was originally scheduled for August
1 but was brought forward by legislators angry at Wahid's
emergency threat and his sacking of the national police chief
who had opposed it.
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