TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The US has voiced its concern on the nomination of Prabowo Subianto as Indonesia’s next president despite the increasing popularity of the retired general according to a number of polls.
The US has deplored the candidacy of Prabowo as the country’s next topman for 2014-2019 due to allegations of his involvement in Indonesia’s human rights abuses during his time as a military officer.
“The sensitivity comes from the extremely close association between the U.S. and Indonesian militaries during the atrocities the Indonesian military committed,” said Jeffrey Winters, a professor of political science at Northwestern University, as quoted by The New York Times on March 26, 2014.
Prabowo, who graduated from American military training programs in the 1980s and is an admirer of the United States, has for years made it clear he would like to meet with high-level American officials. The US has demurred by far.
The US has long been on the American black-list following his alleged human rights violation. In 2000, the State Departement denied Prabowo a visa to attend his son’s university graduation in Boston, although it has never explained why.
The presidential candidacy of Prabowo has also sparked concerns from human rights groups, both international and domestic. The National Human Rights Commission [Komnas HAM] has recommeded Prabowo be tried for allegedly kidnapping pro-democracy activists in the late 1990s during the final months of reign of President Soeharto—his then father-in-law.
ANINGTIAS JATMIKA | NEW YORK TIMES
