Australia cheers Wahid despite home strife

By CNN's Atika Shubert

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid received a 21-gun salute in Australia even as ethnic clashes flared at home.

For the past four days, indigenous Dayaks and local Malays have teamed up against Madurese settlers in the province of Kalimantan.

Both sides have attacked each other with homemade guns and traditional weapons, continuing a long-running battle between the communities.

Five people have been killed in the clashes so far.

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Despite the fighting, Wahid looked relaxed, even jovial as he met with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Indonesian media glazed over the violence back home to report on the highlight of Wahid's trip down under: an oil leak that forced his plane to make an emergency landing in Darwin.

Indonesia's jaded public has become so inured to communal conflicts, and the government's inability to stop them, that the violence has become a second tier news item.

Impeachment looms

Indonesia is in the midst of a political crisis that has paralyzed the government.

Wahid faces impeachment proceedings in August. Critics accuse the president of incompetence, spending too much time overseas rather than concentrating on domestic problems.

All in all, the president has spent more than 100 days overseas, visiting dozens of countries.

"The most worrying thing is that the president continues his overseas visits despite the fact that are now several withdrawals of support for the president begun by his political opponents," the widely read Kompas news daily said in an editorial.

"He gives the impression that he doesn't care about the impeachment proceedings that are now less than 5 weeks away."

Overwhelming problems

Critics say that violence in Kalimantan is only the latest example of how Wahid's government has ignored the country's overwhelming social and economic problems since he was elected 20 months ago.

Ethnic violence in Kalimantan began long before Wahid was elected.

But it was during Wahid's last trip abroad in February that hundreds of people were killed in Kalimantan's ethnic fighting.

Critics lambasted the president for downplaying the violence and continuing on with his trip.

Other problems include a faltering economy and separatist movements on both sides of the archipelago. In particular, a military crackdown on Aceh's separatist insurgents is killing an average of 7 people a day.

Critics warn that the less attention Wahid focuses on settling the country's domestic concerns, the more he risks losing his presidency.