“The President considers the decree he issued [to declare a state of emergency, a move ruled as illegal by the Supreme Court] as a jihad [holy war] to save the state.”This is not an entirely melodramatic position for, amid the coalition of interests lined up against him, are some unsavoury elements. Among those who have lent their most vigorous support to Mrs Megawati have been Golkar, the political party of the ousted dictator, Suharto, which for years connived in his brutal rule. Many questions hang over Mrs Megawati, who is respected less for her own political skills than for her late father, the founding president, Sukarno.She has held on to her popularity by a policy of saying as little as possible, and has never set out detailed plans. What is clear, though, is that in many ways she is less liberal than Mr Wahid.
She is likely to take a stern view of the breakaway movements in Aceh and Papua.Even members of her own party express disquiet about some of those in her entourage, especially the associates of her businessman husband, Taufiq Kiemas. She has everything to prove, and little leeway for errors as she sherself seemed to acknowledge yesterday. “I am extremely aware of the task which I will carry, the challenges which I will face are not light,” she said in her inaugural speech. “Good will is not enough to resolve our problems.” The first and most basic of those tasks remains unsolved: how to prise the keys to the palace from the fingers of Abdurrahman Wahid.Countdown to a crisisMay 1998 Demonstrations and riots force President Suharto (above) to resign after 32 years of authoritarian ruleJune 1999Wahid’s party finishes fourth in Indonesia’s first free parliamentary elections, after Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle, Suharto’s Golkar and a Muslim partyOctober 1999 The People’s Consultative Assembly elects Wahid president, after he cuts deals with Golkar and the Muslim parties. A tearful Megawati settles for the jobs of vice-presidentFebruary 2000 Wahid sacks the security minister, General Wiranto (below), a Suharto ally implicated in the 1999 slaughter in East TimorApril 2000Wahid fires a Megawati ally from his cabinet, opening the first rifts between him and his vice-presidentMay-June 2000Wahid is implicated in two financial scandals involving $4m from a government agency, and $2m from the Sultan of BruneiAugust 2000 Parliament announces an investigation into the scandals.October 2000The police exculpate Wahid, but the political damage is already doneFebruary 2001 Parliament passes the first of three votes of censure on Wahid.
He rejects all threeMay 2001Wahid threatens to impose a state of emergency and dissolve parliament unless it drops impeachment proceedings20 July 2001Assembly leaders call an early impeachment session Wahid refuses to appear before them. The head of apartheid South Africa’s chemical and biological warfare programme gave testimony for the first time yesterday in his trial for murder, fraud and drug trafficking. The head of apartheid South Africa’s chemical and biological warfare programme gave testimony for the first time yesterday in his trial for murder, fraud and drug trafficking.
Dr Wouter Basson revealed the freedom he enjoyed as a powerful man in the former regime. He dealt in secrets with state enemies, enjoyed an unlimited budget and made numerous foreign trips. The only requirement was that he inform authorities if the country was in danger, he said.But Dr Basson, 50, denies any involvement in illegal activities and denies prosecution allegations he headed a secret programme that searched for ways to kill black enemies of the state. He has pleaded innocent to all the 46 charges against him, including 13 counts of murder.
He was acquitted three months ago of 15 other charges, including murder and conspiracy to kill.Dr Basson, dubbed “Dr Death” by the media, took the stand for the first time in the 21-month trial at Pretoria High Court. He told the courtroom he had wanted to be a gynaecologist, but changed his plans during national service. After two years in the military, he began to enjoy “the structure” and became a cardiologist.Speaking in Afrikaans, Dr Basson boasted about his achievements as a military doctor, particularly the part he played in defeating a hepatitis epidemic. He also said he had helped Iran stave off famine in the mid-1980s, but spoke humbly of his rise to the top position in the state’s chemical and biological warfare programme.Dr Basson’s testimony and cross-examination is expected to continue for weeks. He was originally arrested in 1997 selling ecstasy to a police informant. Prosecutors say police investigators subsequently found documents in his home detailing a programme to manufacture large quantities of street drugs for the purposes of crowd control..
