Abdurrahman suspects U.S. of siding with Megawati

Abdurrahman suspects U.S. of siding with Megawati

WASHINGTON (Agencies): Indonesia's ousted president Abdurrahman Wahid said in interviews published Thursday he believes the United States aided his rival, President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in her rise to power.

Abdurrahman told the Washington Times there were intelligence reports that six U.S. submarines were near his country on the day parliament ousted him on July 23.

"The U.S. must not interfere in our internal affairs -- now it looks like they take the side of Megawati," Abdurrahman said, but added, "I would not risk concluding that the U.S. was involved in my ouster. Only later can that be determined."

In a separate interview with the Times, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice denied the United States had taken sides during Indonesia's change of presidents.

"We did follow the Indonesian people's process, and we did not tilt one way or the other until it was resolved," she said. "Once resolved, the United States has to deal with the Indonesian government that is in place."

In another interview, with the Washington Post, Abdurrahman said U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz urged him not to oppose Megawati.

"If she works for democracy, I will do nothing to oppose her," Abdurrahman told the newspaper.

Abdurrahman also said he planned to create a private foundation to promote democracy and monitor human rights abuses in his country.

He said he wanted to keep an eye on the military under new leadership and said Indonesia needed a strong organization to ensure that democracy was preserved.

He did not provide details about the foundation or when it would begin its work.

Abdurrahman, who surrendered power to Megawati, the 54-year- old daughter of Indonesia's founding President Sukarno, told the Post he believed most Indonesians still supported him.

He also predicted the legislature that voted last week to kick him out would be replaced in the next election. "I will definitely win (if I run for president in 2004)," Abdurrahman told the Post.

Abdurrahman left the United States on Wednesday after undergoing medical tests at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Soon after his ouster, he said his blood pressure fluctuated and his doctors feared he would suffer another stroke.

While in Baltimore he underwent tests on his blood pressure and to assess the effects of two previous strokes.

Abdurrahman, who went to the hospital for a medical checkup, is due to land at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday at 10:30 a.m. on Singapore Airlines SQ154 after transit stops in London and Singapore, Antara reported.

His daughter, Zannuba "Yenni" Arifah Chafsoh Rahman, said that her father wanted to go straight to his residence in Ciganjur but on his supporters' request he will instead head for a mosque in Matraman, Central Jakarta for a mass prayer.

"Then he and his supporters will parade to the nearby Proklamasi monument on andong (horse-drawn carts) and becak (pedicab)," Yenni said.