'We Are Making Progress'.(Abdurrahman Wahid interview)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Since he became president, Abdurrahman Wahid has been dogged by crises. He sleeps only about four hours most nights--one reason he's known to take catnaps during official meetings. Yet Wahid seemed alert in a rare predawn interview at Jakarta's presidential palace as he talked and cracked jokes for more than two hours recently with NEWSWEEK's Melinda Liu and Joe Cochrane. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: The recent "Bloody Christmas" church bombings shocked Indonesians. What's the status of the investigation?

WAHID: We're making progress. According to the police report, those behind the bombings appear to be people out to destabilize me, but so far there's no legal proof [of who might have planned the crimes].

There have been allegations that some former generals may have been involved.

I received a message from [former major general] Prabowo [Suharto's son-in-law and former head of Indonesia's Special Forces]. He was very upset that his name was mentioned in the police report. If that's so, he said, it should be proven. The police report also mentioned the name of former Army chief-of-staff Gen. R. Hartono. This only means the police will investigate, and if they find proof they will detain anybody who's involved.

Large demonstrations are expected to resume the week of Jan. 15, with protesters calling for you to resign. Have you considered stepping down?

No, no. The people calling for my resignation are just trying to create a political crisis. [They] include those who are afraid we'll expose their past mistakes.