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Gerindra-led coalition to counter issues on human rights abuses
An official of the Gerindra Party-led coalition campaign team has said they are preparing a special task force to counter issues surrounding the alleged involvement of the coalitionâs presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in a number of past human rights abuses
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n official of the Gerindra Party-led coalition campaign team has said they are preparing a special task force to counter issues surrounding the alleged involvement of the coalition's presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in a number of past human rights abuses.
The team says the allegations have been used as a tactic to discredit the presidential candidate.
'We are ready to counter the allegations because people are smart enough to understand right from wrong,' said campaign team member Ahmad Riza Patria in Jakarta on Saturday as quoted by tempo.co.
Another team member, Laurens Bahang Dama, who is also a National Mandate Party (PAN) member, said the task force would consist of lawyers who were ready to file lawsuits against any unproven accusations against Prabowo during the presidential campaign.
He further said the campaign team was also preparing a division to counter excessive campaigns on social media regarding Prabowo's alleged involvement in human rights abuses.
In May 1998, Prabowo, who is now Gerindra chief patron, was dismissed by then Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Wiranto from his position as chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Pangkostrad) due to his alleged involvement in the enforced disappearances of pro-democracy activists and alleged coup d'etat attempt when he served as the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander.
Laurens said such allegations were baseless as a military court had declared the 11 members of Team Rose - a team within Kopassus ' guilty of kidnapping and murdering the activists in the 1998 incident.
Following the verdict, the court ordered the dismissal of team leader Maj. Bambang Kristiono and his four members. The TNI's Officer Honorary Council (DKP) was also reported to have dismissed Prabowo due to his involvement with the team.
Laurens said however, that Prabowo was dismissed from the military due to his attendance at a meeting with Adnan Buyung Nasution, a rights activist who was reported to have been involved in a group attempting a coup d'etat at that time. (gda/ebf)
