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Wahid Claims He Is Still President as Family Packs Up Palace
JAKARTA, July 24 (News Agencies) - Abdurrahman Wahid still considered himself Indonesia's "legal and moral" president, even as his family was preparing to leave the presidential palace in Jakarta, his spokesman said Tuesday.
"I am speaking as the spokesman of the president of the Republic of Indonesia," Adhi Massardi, told reporters at the Merdeka palace.
"Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid is still the president, legally and morally," he said, using Islamic honorific titles before Wahid's name.
Massardi went on to say that Wahid believed his impeachment on Monday by the national assembly and the appointment of former vice president Megawati Sukarnoputri in his place was "a political reality, but not legally and morally justified."
However, the political realities were conspiring to heap further humiliations on the ousted leader on Tuesday.
Orders from a Presidential Guards commander were posted at the palace, announcing that Wahid was no longer allowed to use the main gate to enter and exit and would have to use a secondary entrance instead.
Additionally, all protocol escorts were withdrawn and his quota of security guards reduced.
Even Wahid's family appeared to be bowing to the inevitable with his youngest daughter, Inayah Wulandari, reportedly saying they had started packing up possessions at the palace on Monday in readiness for a move.
"This is a preparation to move to Ciganjur, but as to precisely when (the family will leave the palace) I do not know yet," Wulandari said, according to the Satunet website.
Ciganjur is in the South Jakarta area where Wahid lived before being elected president in 1999.
Massardi said he did not know if Wahid would leave with his family.
"That the family is preparing to leave, that's true, but whether Gus Dur is, I don't know," he said.
However, Wahid confidante and foreign minister, Alwi Shihab, said the former president would leave the palace within days.
"I'm sure the day is coming, and I'm also sure it won't be as long as two or three weeks, or even three days (at the most)," Shihab was quoted as saying by the Koridor.com news portal.
An aide to Megawati said she was in no rush to force her toppled predecessor out of the palace.
"Moving into the palace is not a priority at all for Megawati," Heri Achmadi, an executive of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), told AFP.
"According to protocol, the ex-president can have up to two weeks to move out, so there's no rush or reason to worry about him staying on there."
Megawati was also willing to meet Wahid, but was unsure if it could be arranged immediately because of the former president's reaction to events.
Wahid has largely remained out of the public eye since his impeachment. However, he planned to address the public at 5:00 pm (1000 GMT) Wednesday, Massardi said.
Wahid's erratic 21-month rule was ended by a swift and unanimous vote of 592 MPs Monday, cutting short his term as Indonesia's first democratically elected president by three years.
Opponents have raised the specter of Wahid being forcibly removed from the palace, claiming that he is violating the law by remaining there.
A group of prominent reformists has urged Wahid to vacate the palace gracefully.
Goenawan Mohamad, a noted poet and long-time friend of Wahid, said this was the best option.
"Personally, I am calling on Gus Dur (Wahid's popular name) to return to Ciganjur and not to stay at the palace," Mohamad said.
"Staying at a palace without effective power is pointless."
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