TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Upon his own personal request to be firmly criticized, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was urged by Adian Napitupulu, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) politician, to solve past human rights violations that have yet been completely settled.

“There are many which we can criticize about, past human rights violations need to be solved. However, I personally think that him, offering to be criticized reassures us that Jokowi truly represents the spirit of reformation 21 years ago,” said Adian to Tempo in response to the president’s request for criticism in front of a large group of 1998 activists.

In the middle of January this year, Adian recalled of talking to Jokowi regarding past human rights violation cases in his meeting with the president at the 98 national activists’ association congress (PENA 98) in Bali that took place on September of 2014. At the time, Jokowi had just been named as the association’s honorable member.

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“I told Jokowi to solve the human rights cases and told him that it would not be an easy task, but it needs to be started since the government must be in peace with its people,” said Adian to Tempo on January 2019.

During the event in Bali, the 1998 activists also took the opportunity to call for the release of remaining activists who are being detained such as Eva Susanti Bande and other activists from Papua. As of December 10, 2014, Jokowi pardoned Eva and followed through in 2015 by releasing dozens of Papuan activists from prison.

Adian Napitupulu believes that Jokowi has shown signs of actually solving one of the country’s bleakest history although he believes that the president’s solution would be applied gradually.

In a meeting with these activists at the Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel on Sunday, June 16, Jokowi urged everyone to daringly criticize and evaluate the performance of the upcoming administration.

DEWI NURITA