March 17, 2000 Indonesia's President Accuses General of Plotting Against Him By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said today that a senior military officer has been plotting against him in an attempt to undermine his administration. Wahid said he had evidence that a regional army commander was "gathering strength to use against me." He did not identify the person but said he would fire him unless he stopped scheming against the government. "I am serious about this," he said after customary Friday prayers at a mosque in south Jakarta. It was the second time this week that Wahid, who took office last October, has said factions of the armed forces are trying to undermine his efforts to implement democratic reform. Similar comments Tuesday left the nation guessing as to the identity of the plotters. Even Wahid's closest aides and national military commanders said they had no idea whom the president was referring to. In Aceh, local leaders expressed hope that the 25-year civil war in the western province may be coming to an end. The comments came a day after a surprise meeting between a presidential envoy and a rebel commander. Acehnese guerrilla commander Abdullah Syafi'ie and State Secretary Bondan Gunawan, a close associate of Wahid, discussed federal security forces' ongoing campaign to stamp out the insurgency. Neither side has yet commented publicly on the results of the meeting in the town of Sigli, about 70 miles east of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. "We welcome the meeting of the two," Teuku Maulida, another rebel leader, said Thursday. "We hope it paves the way for negotiations and for a peaceful settlement." Maulida said the rebels of the Free Aceh Movement have enough weapons and ammunition for a protracted guerrilla war. "But if they really offer a cease-fire, it can begin today," he said in a telephone interview. Aceh, a province of 4.1 million people, is located on the northern tip of Sumatra island. Last week, Wahid said the fighting there -- which has cost more than 5,000 lives in the past decade -- is no longer a major problem for his administration as the rebels "are in a losing position." He predicted the civil war in the oil-rich province would soon be over. Human rights activists, however, say violence in the region is as bad as ever, with torture and murder common occurrences. They have accused the Indonesian army of running death squads in the province and committing numerous human rights abuses.
