Jakarta – Indonesia's army chief has played down President Abdurrahman Wahid's renewed threat to declare a state of emergency if political parties fail to compromise with him by July 20, local media reported Tuesday.

Wahid issued the deadline in response to the parties' virtually unanimous snubbing Monday of his invitation to crisis talks, which had been seen as a last-ditch effort to avoid almost certain impeachment next month.

But army chief of staff General Endriartono Sutarto said the beleaguered president was unlikely to follow through with his frequently repeated threat. "I personally know Gus Dur well. He is a wise and shrewd person and therefore he will not impose such a decree because that would worsen the already chaotic situation," Sutarto was quoted as saying in the Jakarta Post.

Wahid's estranged deputy Megawati Sukarnoputri and the leaders of all major political parties shunned Monday's talks, underlining Wahid's isolation as his impeachment hearing draws near.

After lunching with the only party leader to show up, Matori Abdul Djalil of the pro-Wahid National Awakening Party (PKB), Wahid announced he would dissolve both houses of parliament and hold fresh elections within a year if there is no breakthrough in the political impasse by July 20.

Chief security minister, Agum Gumelar, vowed to prevent Wahid from carrying out his threat. "The president has many times reiterated his will to issue a decree ... but as his minister I have to prevent it," the Post quoted Gumelar, a retired general, as saying. On the private SCTV network Monday, Gumelar also sought to play down the threat: "Don't view this as the president's final decision," he said.

Sutarto and other top military and police brass have repeatedly voiced their opposition to a state of either military or civil emergency. However only the support of the police is required for a civil emergency, and Wahid appears on the verge of winning a month-long battle to replace the chief of police who has declared his opposition to an emergency declaration.

The country's top legislature, the 700-member national assembly, will hold a special week-long session starting August 1 to decide whether to impeach Wahid on the grounds of incompetence and his implication in two financial scandals, in which he has been cleared by state prosecutors. It is widely expected that Wahid will be impeached and replace by vice president Megawati.