Indonesian minister backtracks on Wahid resignation

Six political parties are now said to be preparing a second censure motion

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's defense minister has revised comments on when embattled President Abdurrahman Wahid might step down.

Mahfud M.D. told reporters that Wahid was "ready to be asked to resign as long as there are constitutional reasons."

He earlier said the president would quit if parliament found that he had violated the constitution.

IN DEPTH Shadows over Indonesia

Mahfud, who is known for making controversial statements, caught other senior security ministers off guard with his comments.

Lawmakers moved to censure Wahid last month for his alleged involvement in two multi-million dollar financial scandals, and pressure is now mounting for the embattled president to resign.

More instability expected

Pro- and anti-Wahid protests are an almost daily occurence

The continuing brawl over Wahid's future as Indonesia's president has hurt the country's financial markets. The rupiah and the main stock market index have both been driven to two-year lows.

Pro- and anti- Wahid protests are staged almost daily in Jakarta, raising fears that the demonstrations will trigger street violence.

The president has until May to reply to the first parliamentary censure, but lawmakers from six parties, including the three largest, have already begun drafting the second formal rebuke.

The head of Indonesia's top legislature, or the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has already said a special session will be convened if the second censure is issued.

"If the second memorandum comes out, it can almost be guaranteed that parliament will send out a letter to request an impeachment hearing," speaker Amien Rais said.

Rais was one of Wahid's supporters, but has since turned into one of the his fiercest critics.

Among the parties preparing the second censure is Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), the country's largest party.

Megawati has remained silent over the crisis brewing around Wahid, but party officials say she is ready to assume the presidency.

Her party controls barely a third of the seats in parliament and the MPR. Like Wahid, Megawati would be forced into a series of shaky alliances to stay in power, and analysts believe that if Wahid goes, Megawati would struggle to last until 2004.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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