USS Clueless              Voyages of a restless mind

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Stardate 20010724.0533 (On Screen): With surprising dispatch and unanimity, the Parliament of Indonesia impeached President Wahid yesterday and swore in the former Vice President as the new President. She is moving forward rapidly to form a government. The feared (and threatened) violence has not materialized and at this point the only sand in the gears is that Wahid refuses to leave the Presidential Palace. President Megawati is continuing to live at the official Vice President's residence for the interim.

I wonder if the best course of action here would simply be to ignore Wahid. If he wants to continue to live at the Presidential Palace, let him. It's just a building, and the longer he stays there the more foolish he will look. It's clear that all the important aspects of power have shifted over and that Wahid has no support, and removing him by force would simply legitimize his resistance. Apparently his family is ready to leave, and if he's left alone and ignored, even he will eventually realize that there's nothing remaining, and will walk out on his own accord. Don't even harass him; leave the water and power on, let them continue to deliver food, let his servants continue to work. Let him rot in luxury.

The man desperately wants an affirmation of what he sees as the unjustness of his ouster. A forced eviction would be the punctuation to the whole episode, an exclamation point at the end of the sentence! Better to end with ellipses by letting him fade to obscurity... (discuss)

Update 20010725: Well, "medical treatment in the US" is as good an excuse for leaving as Wahid is going to find at this point, I think. Best for everyone concerned if he comes here and nevers goes back.
Update 20010726: And so it ends.