Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's President, Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, said yesterday that some senior military officers were plotting to overthrow him but any attempt would fail because he had the public's support.

Speaking on state-run television, Mr Wahid said he knew several military commanders were "gathering strength to stand against me". "It does happen," he said. "[But] I have nothing to worry about ... the people are behind me."

His comments follow a major reshuffle two weeks ago of top military commanders that installed reformers into key posts and dumped hardliners loyal to the former armed forces commander, General Wiranto.

Mr Wahid, Indonesia's first democratically elected president, suspended General Wiranto as Co-ordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs after a tense stand-off that fuelled rumours of a military takeover.

Since his suspension General Wiranto, who faces an Attorney- General's investigation into his role in last year's violence in East Timor, has maintained a high public profile.

Mr Wahid's comments came as the Attorney-General's office indicated it expected soon to summon generals implicated in the East Timor violence, including General Wiranto who was armed forces commander at the time.

General Wiranto and 32 others were named as suspects in a report by a government-sanctioned investigation team. The report has been accepted by the Attorney-General, Mr Marzuki Darusman, as the basis for its investigations.

Mr Wahid and his closest advisers have warned several times in the past that influential people, including some in the armed forces, want to destroy his Government.

"If someone is supported by the people, he should not be afraid of anything," he said yesterday. "Let [the plotters] face me."

Officials close to Mr Wahid believe that powerful business people with links to former president Soeharto are prepared to bankroll disgruntled military officers plotting to destabilise the Government.

Mr Soeharto, 79, was forced on Monday night to submit to medical tests so Mr Darusman could determine whether he is well enough to be questioned about the operation of several foundations he formed when president. Mr Soeharto's lawyers have claimed he is too unwell to undergo questioning.

Associated Press reports Mr Wahid said yesterday he would support an unprecedented judicial inquiry into the massacre of hundreds of thousands of alleged communists in the 1960s. "The Government's task is to follow up the findings of the investigations. To punish those ... who are found guilty," Mr Wahid said in a television interview.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian leftists were slaughtered in the aftermath of an abortive coup in 1965. The purge was conducted by Major-General Soeharto, who later took over as head of state from then-President Sukarno.