Wahid warns parliament he will fight

President Wahid denied reports he would dissolve parliament

Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid defiantly warned parliament not to underestimate his resolve to hold on to power and urged supporters to fight back against unconstitutional moves.

"I've been so tolerant that people think I'm weak. I am not," said the president, as parliament moves closer to impeaching him over allegations of corruption.

The job to investigate should be in the hands of the judiciary

President Wahid

He said he would "risk anything" to stop any violation of the country's constitution.

"We must fight with all our might any actions that contravene or stray from the constitution," he said. "If I don't say this, we as a nation will break up."

Supporters of the president have held numerous protests against parliament's efforts to impeach him and some have even warned of a bloodbath if he were forced out of office.

Supporters and opponents of Wahid have taken to the streets

He denied reports published in most newspapers, however, suggesting that he was intending to dissolve parliament, which is due to meet on 30 May and appears set to move towards convening an impeachment hearing.

There has been speculation around the moves that the president will make to stop impeachment efforts.

According to the constitution, a president can dissolve parliament if he first declares a state of emergency.

President Wahid also said that parliament had no right to judge him, as that was a matter for the judiciary.

Doctors to be questioned

In a separate development, Indonesian police have said they would question four doctors who stated that the president was physically and mentally unfit to lead the country.

"We want to find out the motive behind their statement... whether their report is professionally warranted," police spokesman Inspector General Didi Widayadi told Agence France Presse news agency on Thursday.

Mr Wahid, who is nearly blind and has been weakened by two strokes, has described the report as slanderous. His own medical team say that he is healthy.