Wahid Impeachment Imminent

President Abdurrahman Wahid administration, which was inducted19 months ago through a democratic procedure for the first time in Indonesian history, has met a crisis of wreckage.

Although President Wahid declared a state of emergency to prevent an impeachment, six major parties that occupy most seats of the parliament decided to convene its special session for an impeachment. As a result, the president has confronted his biggest crisis after he took over.

President Wahid has illustrated his strong will to cope with this crisis by declaring a state of emergency. Wahid’s own National Awakening Party (PKB) even urged Bambang Yudhoyono, the Security Minister, to arrest politicians who were inciting the impeachment of the president to restore the law and order.

However, the president’s closest advisors, the Security Minister Bambang Yudhoyono and the Defense Minister Mohammad Mahfud, were opposed to the declaring of a state of emergency baffling the president.

President Wahid opted to break through the situation since he thought that the motivation of the impeachment derived from a political reason. Even though the parliament told that two financial scandals of the president initiated the impeachment, it seems that the president’s political betrayal has been the true reason for the impeachment.

President Wahid, who had belonged to a minority party, seized the power by uniting with other parties, and promised to share the power by establishing a pan-national cabinet. However, he betrayed by not keeping the promise. Instead, he fired two ministers who belonged to the largest party in parliament, Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), and Golkar Party.

The current political phase does not seem favorable for Wahid. Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri who had maintained a ambiguous attitude in the relationship with the president declared his intention on 29th by rejecting Wahid’s suggestion of sharing power. Furthermore, Vice President Megawati asked his PDI-P members to cast `yes` votes for convening of a special session of the Peoples Consultative Assembly. It was a `final-blow` to the president Wahid.

Even if the parliament decides to convene the special session of the Peoples Consultative Assembly, there is still a potential for the political resolution. Since the preparation process for the special session takes about two months, president Wahid can overcome the crisis by presenting a term for compromise. Akbar Tanjung, the Golkar party leader and parliamentary president, indicates on 28th that there may be a potential for suspending the impeachment process depending on the president’s attitude by saying that, ``Even if the convening of the special session is decided, there can be a possibility of a political compromise.``

Hong Seong-Chul sungchul@donga.com