Hundreds of students rally against Wahid

Beleaguered President Abdurrhaman Wahid is facing more calls for his resignation

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Some 1,000 students have rallied in central Jakarta demanding the resignation of embattled Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid.

The students marched peacefully down the capital's main thoroughfare, waving anti-Wahid placards and calling for workers to strike in protest at the country's problems.

Anti-Wahid rallies have gathered momentum since parliament rebuked the Muslim cleric on February 1 for his links to two financial scandals.

"Gus Dur has to go," student leader Khairil Adha told Reuters, referring to the president by his nickname.

"The rupiah has passed the 10,000 mark (against the dollar) and violence is everywhere. We have to speed up his impeachment," he added.

Impeachment a possibility

Wahid has until May to respond to the censure, which could lead to his impeachment later this year.

His credibility was further eroded by last month's savagery in Borneo and worsening economic conditions.

Late last month Dayaks in Central Kalimantan went on a killing spree, slaughtering close to 500 immigrants from the island of Madura and forcing about 50,000 others to flee.

The violence occurred when Wahid was on an overseas trip to the Middle East and Africa, a visit he refused to cut short despite the crisis.

The violence and growing gloom about the giant country have battered the rupiah which hit 10,130 against the dollar on Friday -- its lowest in 29 months.

The rupiah has lost more than 25 percent of its value against the dollar in the past year due to festering economic and political problems.

More protests planned

Adha said students were also planning to stage mass rallies across Java on Monday with up to 10,000 expected to gather in Jakarta alone.

"We only have 1,000 here now, but tomorrow we will take 10,000 to the streets. We will try to occupy the palace and ask everyone to stop doing their work and join us," he said.

Later on Sunday, another 200 workers rallied in front of the presidential palace, demanding the government drop plans to further hike fuel prices in April.

The cabinet will discuss the plan on Monday.

The government raised fuel prices by 12 percent last October, triggering a series of street protests throughout the vast archipelago.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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