Wahid cleared but impeachment still likely

Wahid is running out of time, and options

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian prosecutors have cleared President Abdurrahman Wahid of wrongdoing, but moves to oust him are expected to persist.

Attornery-General Marzuki Darusman cleared Wahid of any involvement in two graft scandals late Monday. Wahid's involvement in the corruption cases triggered moves to impeach him.

But Wahid's clearance is unlikely to derail pressure to oust him because the criticism has moved to a more general attack on his erratic leadership.

Parliament has so far issued two motions of censure against the president -- one for his alleged involvement in two high-profile corruption cases and another for failing to meet key policy targets set by parliament.

CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition    AUDIO CNN's Atika Shubert in Jakarta: President Wahid is known for making controversial statements 1.13MB/1 min 48 sec AIFF or WAV sound

Parliament is due to meet later in the week where it is widely expected to take steps towards impeaching Wahid -- the most serious test yet of the country's fledgling democracy.

Wahid's clearance came hours after the president said Indonesia was in a "political emergency situation" and called for his security minister to "take all steps" to ensure security and restore order.

While stopping short of his threatened declaration of a state of civil emergency, Wahid warned Indonesia could break apart if he was ousted.

The Muslim cleric has already warned of massive bloodshed if he is impeached and argued that moves to tighten security are justified by the need to avoid further violence.

Observers say supporters are likely to be enraged if Wahid is ousted, with thousands of Wahid followers and opponents vowing to take to the streets when parliament meets on Wednesday.

Fearing renewed violence on the streets of the capital, police warned they would shoot any troublemakers on sight.

Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said late Monday that in the next three months "the situation is expected to be critical" with "security disturbances" and conflict rising.

'Special steps'

Critics say that Wahid has led in an erratic manner

In his televised address to the nation Monday Wahid introduced a formal statement that gave few clues as to how the country's deepening leadership crisis might be resolved.

"I order the coordinating minister of politics and security to take action and special steps needed in coordination with security forces to tackle the crisis, to enforce law and order and security as soon as possible," a formal decree read by an official said.

The ambiguous statement left many unsure what path Wahid planned to take in dealing with his critics.

However, Yudhoyono said the president's announcement did not constitute a decree calling for a state of emergency or martial law.

Yudhoyono has already made clear that he would not support any move toward declaring a civil emergency.

Separately, Defense Minister Mohammad Mahfud said no arrests would be made under the new measures.

Emergency threat

On Sunday Wahid threatened to declare a state of civil emergency if lawmakers went ahead with moves to impeach him.

The announcement dramatically raised the stakes in a tense standoff between the embattled president and his increasingly bold opponents in the country's parliament.

Observers say if Wahid decides to declare an emergency, one step away from marital law, it is far from certain that the security forces would follow the order.

Indonesia's top brass are seen to favor Wahid's estranged vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri.

She has remained conspicuously silent in recent days although she has been seen praying at the grave of her father, Sukarno, Indonesia's founding president.

The ambitious and popular Megawati is reviewing Wahid's power-sharing offer last week, which would effectively make her head of government and reduce Wahid to head of state.

Warning shots

Enraged by attempts to unseat the Muslim cleric, Wahid supporters have called for his opponents to be killed with crowds attacking homes and offices of rival political parties in the president's home province of East Java.

On Monday police fired warnings shots at thousands of demonstrators who went on the rampage in the province.

"The police will use live bullets, not to kill but to paralyze," the Jakarta Post daily quoted inspector-general Sofjan Jacoeb as saying.

Taking an even tougher line national police spokesman Didi Widayadi said police were being placed on high alert in the province and would show no mercy.

Thousands of Wahid's more fanatical supporters, many of them from his home province of East Java say they have formed suicide squads to defend the ailing Muslim cleric.

Jakarta remained calm, but police said they have placed the capital, the tourist island of Bali and other regions on alert.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.