Abdurrahman Wahid, 2000 News

(Gus Dur),

Indonesian politician and Sufi cleric who became the archipelago's first freely elected president in Oct. 1999, suspended Gen. Wiranto from the Indonesian cabinet in Feb., because the powerful military leader was placed under investigation for war crimes during the crisis in East Timor. Wahid faces an uphill battle in leading Indonesia, which has been torn apart by religious and ethnic violence, particularly in the provinces of Aceh, Irian Jaya, and the Molucca Islands.


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