Indonesia's Parliament yesterday voted overwhelmingly to call President Abdurrahman Wahid to account tomorrow, in the final step before deposing him.
Mr Wahid remained defiant but a leadership change now appears inevitable.
The President said he would refuse to attend the special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the state's highest law-making body, and again threatened to impose a state of emergency or stir a mass protest.
'I will not attend this illegal meeting,' the President said during a nationally televised news conference. 'This is an act of treason.'
MPR chairman Amien Rais demanded that Mr Wahid appear before the assembly to defend his administration's troubled record and address allegations of corruption and incompetence.
And legislators insist they will rule that Mr Wahid has failed as President and oust him whether he takes part or not. It is expected that if Mr Wahid fails to appear before the assembly within a couple of days, it will install Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri as president regardless. Mr Wahid added: 'I have many options. I won't tell what I will do, but I will do something. Don't blame me if the crowd takes care of everything by themselves.'
