The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the largest in the People's Consultative Assem-bly (MPR), rejected President B.J. Habibie's accountability speech yesterday, the Jakarta Post reported last night.
"Habibie's 16 months of administration has failed," the paper quoted a party spokesperson as saying.
Meanwhile, riot police used tear gas and batons yesterday to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators as the criticism mounted against Habibie and eroded his chances of being re-elected next week.
About 30 protesters were hospitalized and 10 policemen injured in clashes that closed the city's business district for hours.
Habibie frowned and took notes on the stage in the national legislature last night as disgruntled members of the 700-member MPR assailed his 16-month record.
Indonesia's highest lawmaking body will decide who will be Indonesia's head of state on Wednesday next week.
It is unclear what the outcome will be. The world's fourth most populous nation is now grappling with a difficult transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule under ex-President Suharto.
Habibie, Suharto's one-time prot?g?, is one of three presidential candidates, and he made an impassioned defense of his turbulent tenure to the legislators in an "accountability" speech Thursday night. He said he introduced democracy and saved Indonesia's battered economy.
But when the assembly reconvened yesterday, speaker after speaker attacked the president.
Within the next few days, the legislators will vote whether to accept or reject Habibie's speech. If they reject it, Habibie will have little choice but to withdraw his nomination.
"Habibie is Suharto's crony and Suharto's shadow," said Zulvan Lindan of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, led by Habibie's main rival, Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Even Habibie's own party, Golkar, which nominated him for the presidency, questioned his handling of two key issues -- the dropping of a corruption investigation against Suharto and the East Timor crisis.
"How serious is the government about dealing with graft?" said Prio Budi Santos, the leader of Golkar's lawmakers, during the nationally televised proceedings in the parliament.
Hours earlier, as many as 5,000 protesters, a mixture of students, opposition supporters and the unemployed, blocked Jakarta's main boulevard near parliament.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS