Support grows for Megawati

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, MARCH 3. A meeting between leaders of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) led by the Vice-President, Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, the National Mandate Party of Mr. Amien Rais, and General Suharto's Golkar party, has raised the issue of a change in leadership in Indonesia.

While it remains unclear about the agreement reached at the meeting in Jakarta on Friday, it is evident that the issue of the President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, continuing in office, did come up for discussion.

``I guess the people of this nation should mentally prepare themselves to face another change of national leadership,'' Mr. Amien Rais, who is also the Speaker of the upper House of Parliament, said after the meeting.

Mr. Rais, who is an Islamic hardliner, chose not to give details about the meeting to reporters; he only said that there was an ``unspoken conclusion'' that if change of leadership is to happen, it should take place in a prudent and constitutional manner.

Mr. Wahid, who is away on a foreign tour, has received considerable flak for continuing with his travels despite the killings of over 450 persons in ethnic violence in Central Kalimantan province.

The President has already been served with a memorandum calling for his explanation in two corruption-related issues by Parliament. In case Mr. Wahid does not reply, another memorandum can be served on him, and then a possible process of impeachment could begin.

Apparently, one of the breakthroughs at the meeting was that the Islamic parties dropped their objection to Ms. Megawati, ``a woman'', becoming the President of Indonesia.

``Muslim people would never have a problem with a female leader, particularly if she were Muslim too,'' Mr. Hidayat Nurwahid, Justice Party chairman, was quoted as saying.

``Since Mega (as the Vice-President is popularly known in Indonesia) is a true Muslim, we do not see any problem in supporting her to replace Gus Dur (the President's nickname),'' he said.

AP, PTI report:

In what could be a far reaching move, the U.S. administration is reported to be toying with idea of encouraging the Indonesian military to take over the reins of power to prevent the nation from breaking apart, media reports said.

The Washington Post newspaper reported on Friday that the Bush administration was appalled by the brutal ethnic violence in Indonesia and Mr. Wahid's failure to take decisive action.

To prevent the nation of 214 million from breaking apart and plunging into chaos, the U.S. was reportedly thinking of dumping Mr. Wahid and turning to the military to restore order and preserve the country.

The paper, however, warned against any such action and urged the Bush administration to instead help Mr. Wahid.

Meanwhile, about 6,000 Madurese settlers boarded navy ships on Saturday to flee a bloody rampage by Dayak natives on Indonesia's Borneo island.

Authorities promised the refugees will be able to return, but the fear left behind by the massacres made that scenario seem unlikely.

Two ships carrying 7,000 refugees departed the central Kalimantan town of Sampit on Friday for east Java. An additional two warships were set to leave Sampit on Saturday carrying 6,000 refugees.

The Dayak campaign to rid central Kalimantan province of Madurese has largely succeeded, with an estimated 50,000 people having been driven from their homes. Several thousand Madurese refugees were still languishing in a disease-infested camp in Sampit, waiting for ships to evacuate them.

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