Vaudine England, Surabaya and agencies in Jakarta – In a sign that President Abdurrahman Wahid's Government may be cracking under the pressure of a parliamentary censure, his justice minister angrily left the cabinet yesterday accused of disloyalty after urging the head of state to quit.

The dramatic departure of Yusril Mahendra came as 50,000 people in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya staged violent protests against attempts to impeach Mr Wahid for alleged corruption.

Later Mr Wahid called for calm, but said the reasons for the demonstrations in his home province of East Java were understandable. "It shows that the anger of the people is very big," Mr Wahid said. He predicted the protests had climaxed and would not be repeated. "This is a bitter lesson. This is the price of democracy," he added.

Mr Wahid's comments capped a day of confusion and disarray at the state palace in Jakarta. Hours earlier, Mr Mahendra claimed that the embattled President had fired him for suggesting in public that Mr Wahid step down.

But Mr Wahid denied that and instead said the minister had quit voluntarily after being told that his colleagues wanted him to leave the cabinet because of his disloyalty.

Whatever the case, the departure of Mr Mahendra, the second minister to leave the cabinet in a month, is a further blow to Mr Wahid's chances of riding out a political storm amid threats by Parliament to impeach him over two corruption scandals.

Until now, Mr Wahid had boasted that he enjoyed the full support of his cabinet and would be able to serve until his term expires in 2004. He has denied any wrongdoing in the scandals.

"Things are getting very serious for the President," Salim Said, a prominent Jakarta political analyst, said. "Sacking Mahendra shows his support base is getting smaller and smaller."

Although Mr Wahid has repeatedly called on his supporters to stay calm, protests have snowballed in his home province of East Java during the past five days.

In Surabaya, protesters called for the deaths of Mr Wahid's opponents and burnt a provincial office of the Golkar political party.

Security forces failed to stop the mobs, although warning shots and tear-gas were fired. Their restraint reflected the blanket support for Mr Wahid and a growing hatred of the Suharto-era Golkar across East Java.

"Anyone against us deserves to die!" screamed one young man in the pro-Wahid mob. "If Wahid falls, the country will be destroyed," read one banner. "If anyone tries to topple Wahid, we will revolt," said protest organiser Mohamad Sujadi.

Protesters later massed at the provincial parliament, carrying fake coffins bearing the names of Parliament leaders Amien Rais and Akbar Tandjung. They are blamed for pushing through the censure of Mr Wahid in a parliamentary memorandum a week ago.

"We will kill them!" shouted one demonstrator, supporting fears that East Java's backing for their native son, Mr Wahid, could spark wider conflict.

In Jakarta, the armed forces committed themselves to upholding the constitutional process, which gives Mr Wahid three months to appease a Parliament set on deposing him.