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Democratic Party denies Yudhoyono, AHY ever initiated meetings with Jokowi
Democratic Party secretary-general Teuku Riefky Harsya said in a statement published on Wednesday that in the past three and a half years, there had only been four meetings involving Democratic Party chief patron and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the party's chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, with President Jokowi.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (left) meets with Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) at the Bogor Palace on May, 22, 2019. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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esponding to a statement from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo that the leadership of the Democratic Party held frequent meetings with him under the cover of darkness, a spokesperson for the opposition party said on Wednesday that there were in fact only a handful of meetings with the President and key figures in the party and that they were held at the request of the State Palace.
Democratic Party secretary-general Teuku Riefky Harsya said in a statement published on Wednesday that in the past three and a half years, there had only been four meetings involving Democratic Party chief patron and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the party's chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, with President Jokowi.
Riefky said that all meetings involving Yudhoyono and Jokowi were set up by the Palace and took place on the sidelines of major events, including the wedding of the President's son Kaesang Pangarep and the state dinner for heads of state at the Group of 20 Summit in Bali.
As for the meeting between President Jokowi and Agus, the meeting was designed to give a clarification of the alleged political interference by the government in the Democratic Party's internal affairs, especially following the attempt by Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko to take over the party leadership in 2021.
"The Palace said President Jokowi wished to see Pak SBY [...] at that time Pak SBY decided that the right person to hear the explanation was party chairman AHY," Riefky said, referring to Agus by his initials.
On Monday, during a meeting with journalists in Jakarta, President Jokowi claimed that he "frequently had meetings with the leadership of the Democratic Party and the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party [PKS]," two parties in the opposition camp.
"The Democrats have come to the Palace very often. So has the PKS, but they only want to do so at night," Jokowi was quoted as saying.
