JAKARTA, Indonesia, JULY 23, 2001 (Zenit.org).- Megawati Sukarnoputri, sworned in as the new head of state today, has never said how she would resolve the many ethnic, religious and separatist conflicts that threaten the unity of the world´s fourth largest country, the Associated Press said.
Indonesia´s national assembly removed President Abdurrahman Wahid earlier in the day, and swore in his deputy as the new head of state. Wahid, abandoned by the military, was refusing to quit office.
«With all humbleness I accept the people´s wishes,» Megawati said after being sworn in. Megawati is the daughter of Indonesia´s founding leader, Sukarno, and the first woman to lead this overwhelmingly Muslim nation. She has been married three times and has three children.
Megawati is faced with the task of ending months of political turmoil that has plagued the nation as legislators drove to remove Wahid for incompetence and misrule. Megawati is to govern until parliamentary elections are held in 2004.
Wahid´s opponents accused him of erratic policymaking and failing to fix the crisis-ridden economy or resolving several bloody sectarian and separatist conflicts.
Muslim-Christian clashes have left 8,000 dead in the Molucca Islands since 1999.
On Sunday a bomb exploded during a Mass at a Catholic church in Jakarta, the capital, injuring 64 people, some seriously. Officials blamed the blast on groups who were aiming to foment trouble on the eve of the government session that ousted Wahid.
