Gus Dur to keep on fighting for democracy

JAKARTA (JP): Ousted President Abdurrahman Wahid reiterated, upon his arrival in Washington DC for medical treatment, that he would fight to uphold democracy in Indonesia, Antara reported on Saturday.

"I will fight for democracy," he said, as he arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning Indonesian time).

The former president and his entourage arrived aboard a commercial British Airways flight after transiting in Singapore and London.

Abdurrahman, or Gus Dur as he is affectionately called, was accompanied by his wife and two daughters.

Some U.S. intelligence agents were seen guarding the airport while police secured his route.

The former president and his family were greeted by Indonesia's deputy ambassador to the U.S., Samudro Sriwidjaja.

Asked about his current status, Abdurrahman said that constitutionally he was still president although in reality he had been deposed.

"Constitutionally, I am still the president, but in reality I am no longer president," he said.

He said he was not sorry about what had happened to him at home and accepted it as a logical consequence of his struggle to uphold democracy in Indonesia. He said it was not easy to uphold democracy.

"The struggle to uphold democracy will take time," he continued.

Asked about what to do to uphold democracy, he said that he and several other people close to him were working on a plan.

"We will discuss it later with Pak Alwi (caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab) and others," he said.

He said that he would be in the U.S. for five days and there would be no plan to extend his trip or to change his schedule to take medical treatment.

Talking with foreign and Indonesian reporters at the airport, Gus Dur looked relaxed and laughed several times before answering questions.

His wife, who was wearing a pink Muslim outfit, also looked relaxed with a smiling face.

Clad in a brown long-sleeved batik shirt, Abdurrahman, who is nearly blind, was in a wheelchair pushed by one of his two adjutants.

Abdurrahman and his family were later driven by Indonesian embassy staff to Baltimore. He is scheduled to undergo a medical checkup at John Hopkins Hospital.

In June 2000, when Gus Dur was still president, he visited the hospital for an eye examination.

He lost his job on Monday through an impeachment process by the People's Consultative Assembly, which found him guilty of corruption, incompetence and of violating the Constitution. He was replaced by former vice president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Insisting that the impeachment process was illegal, Gus Dur resisted from giving up his post and from leaving the Presidential Palace. He relented on Thursday as mounting pressure apparently affected his health, with doctors warning of a third and possibly fatal stroke.