MPs seek early Wahid impeachment

Parties accuse Wahid of making "crazy" decisions

The main political parties in the Indonesian parliament have requested that the impeachment hearing of President Abdurrahman Wahid be brought forward from the planned start date in August.

I will not step down

President Wahid

The parliamentary leaders of the five largest parties say the process should be speeded up to prevent further chaos in the country.

Mr Wahid has been accused of corruption and incompetence, allegations which he strongly denies.

"I will not step down," he said on Friday. "If I resign, several regions will break away."

Protests

Correspondents say more protests are expected when the government brings in 30% increases in fuel prices on Saturday.

The government had originally planned to bring in the price rises on Friday, but called them off at the last minute fearing unrest.

A fuel price rise sparked the unrest 1998 which toppled President Suharto.

The president's crazy actions have resulted not only in confusion among the people but also serious internal friction in the military and the national police

Golkar leader Syamsul Muarif

Nineteen people were reported to have died in separatist and religious fighting in Aceh and Maluku provinces on Thursday. Violence there has killed hundreds so far this year - 610 people in Aceh alone.

Meanwhile cities across the island of Java were hit by a third consecutive day of violent labour protests.

Thousands of workers rallied near Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, in east Java, as well as in Bandung in west Java. Police fired warning shots to disperse them.

Some MPs have called for the impeachment hearing to begin in two weeks' time or even sooner, but BBC Jakarta correspondent Richard Galpin says there are questions as to whether speeding up the process is constitutional.

Preparing for protests outside the presidential palace

By law, the impeachment hearing before the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) should be held 60 days after the second of two effective no-confidence votes against Mr Wahid, which took place on 30 May.

The proposal for bringing the hearing forward - on the grounds that the country is in crisis - will now have to be put before the working committee of Indonesia's upper house for a decision.

Workers' anger

MPs argue that the impoverished country is too volatile to wait until 1 August for the impeachment session.

"Speeding up the meeting is important to save the nation and the country and it is in the public's interests which have to be put on top of other interests," Didi Supriyanto, an MP with the largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), said, in a report in the Republika daily.

Bandung, West Java: Scene of serious clashes

Thousands of workers have been protesting against a decree ending severance pay for some employees.

On Wednesday and Thursday, police used tear gas and fired warning shots in key cities in east and west Java to end mass demonstrations - some of them violent - by striking workers.

MPs fears

At a joint news conference, leaders of the five parties quoted a number of examples to support their argument for an early impeachment - the first being Mr Wahid's attempt to sack the national police chief at the beginning of June.

General Suroyo Bimantoro is still refusing to step down and has won the support of many senior officers across the country.

Petrol price rises have been postponed

Our correspondent says many people believe Mr Wahid wanted to remove Mr Bimantoro because he had refused to support the president's plan to impose a state of emergency so parliament could be dissolved and the impeachment avoided.

The parties also said the government's latest announcement - that it would investigate a number of senior politicians for corruption - was a purely political move by the president, aimed at stopping the impeachment.

Finally, they argued that the current spate of violent labour protests across Java were a clear indication of the need to resolve the political crisis as soon as possible.