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Wiranto's appointment questioned
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New Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto prepare for a group photo at the State Palace on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
T
he appointment of retired general Wiranto as the new coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister is a backward move for Indonesia amid the government's strong stance in resolving past human rights abuse cases, an activist said on Wednesday.
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) questioned President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's decision to appoint the chairman of the Hanura Party to replace Luhut Pandjaitan in the latest Cabinet shake-up announced on Wednesday. The appointment of Wiranto, who has a dark human rights track record, contravened Jokowi's commitment to comprehensive resolutions of unresolved cases of rights violations, insisted Kontras' impunity monitoring division head, Feri Kusuma.
"There is no ray of hope that we can count on Wiranto to resolve our past human rights abuses," Feri told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday.
Jokowi's administration also risked fair law enforcement and human rights protection by putting Wiranto in the strategic position, he added.
The appointment of the former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander was always likely to draw concern, as the United Nations and several human rights groups have gathered evidence that he played a key role in facilitating severe human rights violations during Indonesia's withdrawal from the occupied territory of East Timor in 1999. At least 1,500 East Timorese people reportedly died during the referendum in 1999 under his watch and 500,000 were forced into displacement. Wiranto denies involvement. (rin)
