Indonesian army: Don't oust president

The Indonesian army chief has warned against any attempt to overthrow President Wahid while he is out of the country, performing the pilgrimage to Mecca.

General Endriartono Sutarto told reporters it was up to the people to decide whether the president should stay or go; the army, he said, would uphold the constitution.

Calls for President Wahid to resign have intensified since communal violence broke out last month in central Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo.

Local Dayak people have killed more than four-hundred settlers from other parts of Indonesia, mostly the island of Madura; tens of thousands of people have fled. Yesterday there were demonstrations against Mr Wahid in Jakarta while the vice-president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, visited a refugee camp.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service