Tag: Elections / Democracy
Indonesia’s next leader must prioritize human rights
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s decade in office has been marked by only patchy progress on human rights and Indonesia’s next leader must urgently tackle ongoing violations and repeal repressive and discriminatory laws, Amnesty International said today in a human rights agenda for Indonesia’s presidential candidates.
With campaigning under way for...
Committee advises EU to consider plight of political prisoners
Members of the scrutinising committee for remaining political prisoners advised the European Union (EU) to consider the current difficulties of political prisoners in drawing up their policy for human rights in Myanmar.
Delegations from the EU and the local civic bodies met at the EU office in Yangon on April...
Controversial Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto gets union backing
Indonesia's controversial presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has secured the support of the country’s most charismatic labour leader at a raucous May Day rally in Jakarta.
Despite a checkered human rights record, former military leader Prabowo is the second-favourite candidate for the Indonesian presidency in July’s elections, behind only Jakarta governor...
Indonesian Reformation Figure Amien Rais Criticized for Supporting Prabowo
Jakarta - A politician widely viewed as a leading figure in the 1998 reformation movement that overthrew the New Order regime has come under criticism by human rights activists following speculation that his National Mandate Party (PAN) will soon form a coalition with the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).
Amien...
Activist on Being Tortured by the Man Who Could Be Indonesia’s Next President
Nothing piques your interest in a presidential election than having been abducted by one of the candidates.
This is the predicament of Mugiyanto, an Indonesian pro-democracy activist who was kidnapped and tortured by Indonesian special forces (Kopassus) in 1998 during the final months of the Suharto regime.
General Suharto took power...
Yudhoyono Urged to Set Up 1998 Human Rights Tribunal
Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been asked to set up an ad hoc human rights court related to alleged rights violations, missing persons and abductions of activists.
A presidential advisory board member said setting up the court was necessary to resolving the cases.
“I promise that in line with my...
Army imposes martial law in Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- It's tense in Thailand, where violence has spilled into the streets, people have died or been injured, and the army declared martial law Tuesday.
Underscoring the instability, the army's decision to take control of the country came as a surprise to acting Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan,...
Indonesian presidential candidates name VP picks
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The opponents are set in Indonesia’s presidential elections: the departing Jakarta governor whose populist streak has swept him to front-runner status versus a former army general with a checkered human rights record and the support of the country’s rightwing, Islamist block.
Joko Widodo, known across the country...
Thailand army declares martial law
Jonathan Head reports from Bangkok on the surprise announcement The Thai army says that it is imposing martial law amid a political crisis "to preserve law and order".
The surprise announcement also granted the army wide-ranging powers to enforce its decision.
The military insisted that its assumption of responsibility for national...
Indonesian election candidates the focus of human rights concerns
Jakarta: Both teams in the Indonesian presidential election have human rights concerns hanging over their candidates according to the global organisation Human Rights Watch.
The campaign of Prabowo Subianto, a former general and head of the special forces Kopassus, has been dogged by accusations that his unit kidnapped and tortured...
