Sudahkah anda melihat kurs rupiah hari ini? ------- September 7, 1999 East Timor Latest Threat to Habibie Filed at 2:32 a.m. EDT By The Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Hounded by chaos in East Timor, a lost election, a bank scandal and nervous investors, Indonesia's President B.J. Habibie has his back to the wall. His increasingly threatened command makes many wonder about the critical next two months before the expected transfer of power to populist Megawati Sukarnoputri's presidency. In a potentially ominous note, the military promised Thursday not to stage a coup -- making some people wonder whether a forceful takeover is exactly what the armed forces have in mind. It all spells trouble for the slight man with the impish grin who stepped from the shadows of his mighty patron, President Suharto, to assume control in May 1998. Megawati, whose party won first place in June's parliamentary elections, has consistently pointed the finger at Habibie for the troubles in East Timor. ``I was hoping that East Timor would still be a part of Indonesia,'' she said Saturday. ``From the first, I've said that this is Habibie's responsibility.'' She also has raised fears -- deeply felt in the Indonesian military -- that the Aug. 30 vote for independence in East Timor will encourage separatism in other provinces. If that were to happen, the Indonesian military could see the need to intervene and quell unrest. Megawati is the favorite to be named president by a special assembly in November, giving Habibie two critical months guiding this nation of 210 million people. ``I'm not saying that Habibie should resign from his post as a consequence of the pro-independence victory in East Timor,'' said Bambang W. Suharto, a member of the National Commission on Human Rights. But Habibie has to be ``held accountable'' for the loss of the troubled province, said Suharto -- no relation to the ousted president -- in Monday's editions of the Jakarta Post. Last week, parliament took the once-unthinkable step of summoning Habibie to a hearing over an $80 million bank scandal. Though the lawmakers later backed down, the World Bank and other lenders are still demanding clear answers.
