Impeachment process unstoppable: Indonesia's Speaker

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The impeachment process against Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid is unstoppable, the Speaker of Parliament, Amien Rais, has told CNN.

He said that a power-sharing arrangement may still be possible "after we have a new president," referring to the present Vice President, Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Parliament voted on Wednesday to begin the impeachment process against Wahid that could see him out of office in August.

Fanatical supporters of the president invaded the grounds of Parliament in Jakarta and paratroop reinforcements flew to Wahid's stronghold of East Java to dfeal with violent protests on Wednesday.

"The violence, the troubles and turmoil in East Java are not natural," Rais said in an interview with CNN's Veronica Pedrosa.

"It was engineered, it was quiete artificial. So if the authorities and the police take strong measures without any hesitation they will calm down and they will know they are playing a losing game. It is a matter of time, they will face reality and they will have to accept the reality."

The president could take any position he wishes, but the legal and constitiutional process now underway would go ahead, Rais said.

"If he is impeached he will be asked to leave the palace and we will install the new president.

"You are right, he is quite stubborn, quite recalcitrant, but it's okay. He can take any position as he wishes but the legal procedure the consitutional mechanism will take place as expected and its a matter of two months, I believe, everything will be settled we will have a new president and of coures we will be thankful to Mr Wahid for what he has done, good things for the whole nation, but unfortunately because he has lost the trust of the people, he has lost the legitimacy and then we must say enough is enough and we muist say goodbye to him."

Asked whether he would be satisfied with Megawati as president, Rais said: "I doubted her quality of leadership about two years ago but of course human beings have the capacity to learn, to improve, and Megawati I believe has improved a lot in the last two years by being vice president.

"In the last 18 months she has a lot of experience in managing state affairs and as long as she listens to good advice and she does not repeat the mistakes committed by Wahid believe me, God willing, she will make a better president."

An astute deal-maker, Rais initially supported Wahid in the presidential race. But as Wahid's presidency continued, the two fell out.

Rais and Wahid both headed large Muslim organizations, Rais as chairman of the 28-million modernist and more orthodox Muhammadiyah, Wahid as head of the traditionalist and rural-based Nahdlatul Ulama.