Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Embattled President Abdurrahman Wahid, staring down the barrel of impeachment, has asked Indonesia for forgiveness but said no leader could pull the nation out of its current economic mess.

In an address to the nation broadcast on state television on Friday, 60-year-old Wahid appealed to Indonesians to stay calm and asked not to be judged, saying he had inherited myriad problems.

"When I started ... the nation was in a sad condition. Even if this nation had 100 presidential changes, nobody could mend the economy," the near-blind Wahid told the nation in an address read on his behalf by presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar. "Do not be rash in judging me ... or try to topple me by searching for mistakes," he added, in a state television broadcast.

Wahid also warned against violence in the capital next week, when he is likely to be censured by parliament for his role in two financial scandals. "I instruct all Indonesian citizens to stop any kind of violence," Wahid said.

Foreign embassies on Friday asked police for extra protection, fearing the censure could ignite Wahid's fanatical supporters who have been streaming into Jakarta.

Indonesia's 210 million people have had little respite from political turmoil in recent years as the world's fourth most populous country limps from decades of despots to democracy. "We have deployed extra personnel to protect all embassies here, and also offices of international organisations such as the UN," Jakarta police spokesman Anton Bahrul Alam told Reuters on Friday.

"We don't want them to be nervous, or panic and leave Indonesia. It would be embarrassing for us and would worsen our country's already bad image." Police have said they are ready to shoot rioters when MPs meet on Monday.

Praise for Megawati

Wahid, whose grip on power looks increasingly feeble, has denied any wrongdoing and accuses legislators of overstepping their authority by censuring him.

But in his address, hr praised his long-time friend Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is set to assume the top post if the Muslim cleric is ousted. "She's supposed to be the president right now because she was the leader of the party with the most votes," Witoelar said.

If censured, Wahid will have 30 days to reply. Should legislators consider his response unsatisfactory, parliament can request impeachment proceedings in the top legislature.

And hugely popular Megawati was earlier quoted as saying she was unlikely to oppose a second censure.

Fears over violence have helped sink the rupiah past 12,000 to the dollar for the first time since September 1998. By 0715 GMT it had recovered a little to be quoted just below 12,000.

The official Antara news agency reported that the embassies of the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands were among those that had requested special protection.

The first big test will come on Sunday when possibly hundreds of thousands of Wahid's supporters from the Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim group plan a prayer rally in a central Jakarta stadium in what many see as an attempt to intimidate opponents.

Cabinet wants peace

It is all proving too much for a cabinet facing the Herculean task of administering the unwieldy archipelago.

"The cabinet asked parliament not to issue the second censure. The cabinet is very concerned about how the situation is developing now. The cabinet wants peace," Justice Minister Baharudin Lopa said after meeting House speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Supporters from Wahid's political heartland of East Java have vowed to defend the frail cleric, some with their lives.

"I don't know whether I will see my husband alive again. But he's going to do something noble. I'm willing to let him go," said Sunaryati, whose husband Taufik was among those leaving for Jakarta by train from the east Javanese city of Malang.

Sadlan, a trainer of pro-Wahid suicide squads, said more than 1,000 would leave from there on Friday. "We are going to Jakarta to secure the istigotsah [mass prayer] from attacks by people who hate [Wahid] ... We are not going to hold demonstrations in Jakarta," Sadlan said.

Some 40,000 police and troops are being deployed in Jakarta. Locals in Jakarta said some people were also already stocking up on food in case of riots and that many shopping centres, especially in vulnerable Chinatown which has frequently been the target of attacks in the past, were being given extra protection.

"We are still optimistic that Jakarta will be safe during this time. But we are only human, we can only try ... may God help us all," Alam said.