As the time for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to announce his Cabinet lineup nears, activists have heightened appeals for the new President not to compromise by appointing any figures with poor human rights records as ministers.
Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Sat, October 25 2014, 8:40 AM
As the time for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to announce his Cabinet lineup nears, activists have heightened appeals for the new President not to compromise by appointing any figures with poor human rights records as ministers.
Rumors were circulating that after making several revisions to his Cabinet lineup, Jokowi had still included figures implicated in past unresolved human rights cases.
Unconfirmed reports said that Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla could announce the Cabinet later Friday or next Wednesday at the latest.
Among the problematic candidates are former Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. (ret.) Wiranto who chairs the Hanura Party; former Army chief of staff Gen. (ret.) Ryamizard Ryacudu who is close to Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairwoman of Jokowi’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P); and former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief As’ad Said Ali.
Speculation rose that both Wiranto and Ryamizard were vying for the position of coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister while As’ad could be eyeing BIN’s top post.
Human rights NGO Imparsial sent a letter to Jokowi earlier on Friday, warning the President not to appoint figures possibly involved in past human rights abuses.
In addition to Wiranto, Ryamizard, and As’ad, Imparsial also named as undesirable former BIN chief Gen. (ret.) AM Hendropriyono, former Jakarta Military commander Lt. Gen (ret.) Sutiyoso and former BIN deputy chief Maj. Gen. (ret.) Muchdi Purwopranjono.
“It’s important to ensure that Jokowi’s ministers and other high-ranking officials are figures who don’t have poor track records, not only in terms of corruption but also in human rights,” Imparsial executive director Poengky Indarti said.
She believed that appointing problematic figures could disappoint millions of Indonesians who had high expectations in Jokowi’s Cabinet.