Latest news with #KaesangPangarep
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Former Indonesian president Jokowi signals interest in leading PSI over PPP
Jakarta motorists drive on Jan 18, 2024, past a campaign banner for legislative candidate Grace Natalie Louisa from the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) that also features party chair Kaesang Pangarep (right, top) and his father, then-president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo. - Photo: AFP file JAKARTA: Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has dismissed speculation that he could be in the running to lead the United Development Party (PPP), instead indicating a preference for the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) led by his youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep. Speaking to reporters on Friday (June 6) at his residence in Surakarta, Central Java, the former president, who is currently not a card-carrying member of any party, suggested others were better suited to helm the PPP, the nation's oldest Islamic party. 'There are many candidates within the PPP who are far better, have the competence and capacity for the role,' Jokowi said, as quoted by The PPP is currently preparing to hold its national congress, where it plans to elect a new chairman in hopes of staging a comeback after its resounding defeat in the 2024 legislative election that left it with zero seats in the House of Representatives. It was the party's first election loss since it was formed in 1973. Jokowi had been touted as a potential contender in the PPP's upcoming leadership race alongside other party outsiders, such as vocal government critic and losing presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman and former Army chief of staff Dudung Abdurachman. Instead, the ex-president has indicated he is leaning toward the PSI, another small party that also failed to win any seats in the national legislature last year. A self-styled youth party that has been a staunch supporter of Jokowi since his first presidential bid in 2014, the PSI is set to hold its Pemilihan Raya (grand election) on July 19 in Surakarta and has publicly welcomed Jokowi to run for chairman. 'I'll just go with PSI,' Jokowi said on Friday. Jokowi has been cozying up to several political parties amid questions about his continued political relevance after his two-term presidency ended last year and his expulsion from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the political vehicle that had backed him for over two decades. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amnesty says Indonesia suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Amnesty International criticized Indonesia's government Tuesday, saying it suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests, targets journalists and rights activists and uses spyware against dissidents. The rights group said in its annual report on Indonesia that public protests 'were met with excessive and unnecessary force and arbitrary arrests,' including in August when thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest attempts by the House of Representatives to change the country's election law. The amendment would have permitted Kaesang Pangarep, the son of former president Joko Widodo, to run for regional office despite not meeting the age requirement for candidacy. The parliament eventually withdrew the bill after widespread criticism. The report said at least 344 people were arrested while taking part in public protests across the country in 2024, 152 of them were physically harmed and 17 suffered from the effects of tear gas, while 65 suffered multiple abuses, including 15 university students who were hospitalized. Most of those arrested were later released. It also recorded 123 cases of physical assaults and 288 digital attacks and threats against media workers and human rights activists, including 11 journalists in the capital, Jakarta, who were reportedly targeted by law enforcement. Incidents involved acts of intimidation, death threats and physical violence. The group also said unlawful killings of civilians 'continued with impunity' as the conflict between the Indonesian military and armed separatist groups in the restive region of Papua continued. Amnesty said the government continued to use spyware against dissidents despite a new law that came into effect last October that was supposed to protect people from digital snooping. The group said that the Personal Data Protection Law had not yet been implemented, including what was supposed to be the establishment of a dedicated data protection agency. Amnesty previously has reported that, based on its own research, the government from 2017 to 2023 imported spyware from Greece, Israel, Malaysia and Singapore that was used by police and government agencies. 'If the use of authoritarian practices is not stopped immediately, then we could be heading towards an epidemic of human rights violations, something we do not want,' said Usman Hamid, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, while launching the report in Jakarta. Hamid said that although Indonesia has failed to uphold human rights in 2024, the group will continue to voice their support for President Prabowo Subianto 's administration "to make human rights the key to every policy the country takes, both domestically and internationally.' The Ministry for Law and Human Rights did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Jakarta-based Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, or ICJR, said arbitrary arrests and torture will continue in the country until its criminal code is reformed to curb the powers granted to law enforcement. 'Such reforms are essential to address the root cause of poor law enforcement, which arises from the broad powers granted to investigators to make arrests without proper oversight or legal review,' ICJR said in a statement. ___ This story has been corrected to add the title of Amnesty International Indonesia official.
Associated Press
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Amnesty says Indonesia suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Amnesty International criticized Indonesia's government Tuesday, saying it suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests, targets journalists and rights activists and uses spyware against dissidents. The rights group said in its annual report on Indonesia that public protests 'were met with excessive and unnecessary force and arbitrary arrests,' including in August when thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest attempts by the House of Representatives to change the country's election law. The amendment would have permitted Kaesang Pangarep, the son of former president Joko Widodo, to run for regional office despite not meeting the age requirement for candidacy. The parliament eventually withdrew the bill after widespread criticism. The report said at least 344 people were arrested while taking part in public protests across the country in 2024, 152 of them were physically harmed and 17 suffered from the effects of tear gas, while 65 suffered multiple abuses, including 15 university students who were hospitalized. Most of those arrested were later released. It also recorded 123 cases of physical assaults and 288 digital attacks and threats against media workers and human rights activists, including 11 journalists in the capital, Jakarta, who were reportedly targeted by law enforcement. Incidents involved acts of intimidation, death threats and physical violence. The group also said unlawful killings of civilians 'continued with impunity' as the conflict between the Indonesian military and armed separatist groups in the restive region of Papua continued. Amnesty said the government continued to use spyware against dissidents despite a new law that came into effect last October that was supposed to protect people from digital snooping. The group said that the Personal Data Protection Law had not yet been implemented, including what was supposed to be the establishment of a dedicated data protection agency. Amnesty previously has reported that, based on its own research, the government from 2017 to 2023 imported spyware from Greece, Israel, Malaysia and Singapore that was used by police and government agencies. 'If the use of authoritarian practices is not stopped immediately, then we could be heading towards an epidemic of human rights violations, something we do not want,' said Usman Hamid, the Executive Director of Amnesty International, while launching the report in Jakarta. Hamid said that although Indonesia has failed to uphold human rights in 2024, the group will continue to voice their support for President Prabowo Subianto 's administration 'to make human rights the key to every policy the country takes, both domestically and internationally.' The Ministry for Law and Human Rights did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Jakarta-based Institute for Criminal Justice Reform or ICJR said arbitrary arrests and torture will continue in the country until its criminal code is reformed to curb the powers granted to law enforcement. 'Such reforms are essential to address the root cause of poor law enforcement, which arises from the broad powers granted to investigators to make arrests without proper oversight or legal review,' the ICJR said in a statement.
