Ousted Indonesian leader 'faces fatal stroke'

Ousted Indonesian head of state Abdurrahman Wahid told his family he faced a potentially fatal stroke as he prepared to vacate the presidential palace and travel to the United States for medical treatment.

‘‘If I have a third stroke I will die,’’ Wahid was today quoted as saying by Emha Ainun Najib, a Muslim leader and poet.

Former Cabinet minister Mohammad Mahfud told reporters Wahid will leave the country with his family and physicians tomorrow and would remain in the United States for about two weeks.

The national assembly on Monday replaced Wahid as president with his deputy Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia’s founding president, Sukarno.

Wahid, 61, tried to block the vote by declaring emergency rule.

But that failed when the military refused to obey his order to suspend the legislature.

Since then he has refused to leave the palace in protest, saying that he is still legally president of the world’s fourth-most populous nation.

Wahid is nearly blind and has had two strokes in recent years. He suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes and cannot walk unaided.

His brother and personal physician, Umar Wahid, said stress from the past few days could trigger a relapse.

He said Wahid would undergo a physical examination at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

‘‘We have done intensive checks on his health over the last few days because of the physical, mental and emotional burdens he has been under,’’ Umar said.

Before and during his 21-month presidency, Wahid travelled several times to the United States for treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital and at the John A. Moran Eye Centre at the University of Utah.

Emha said that after Wahid vacates the palace, he will meet his supporters at the National Monument in an adjacent park and then leave for the airport.

But before he leaves, Wahid wants authorities to issue him an official eviction notice.

‘‘He’s not leaving voluntarily,’’ Emha said.

When he returns to Indonesia he will set up a political think-tank to be called the Free Human Foundation, Emha said.

Meanwhile, the assembly was preparing to elect a new vice president.

The choice will help determine the shape of Megawati’s new Cabinet, which is to be announced within a few days.