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PDI-P takes swipe at Prabowo over controversial Ukraine peace plan
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Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto attends the inaugural working meeting of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and security in Jakarta, in this file photo from 2019. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
A
fter outlining an unapproved plan for peace in Ukraine at one of Asia’s foremost defense summits, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has come under fire from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for appearing to undermine the country’s official foreign policy position, as the minister meets with envoys from Russia and Ukraine.
The PDI-P, to which President Joko “Jokowi’ Widodo belongs, took a swipe at Prabowo, a frontrunner for the presidency next year, suggesting that its own presidential nominee Ganjar Pranowo would never propose a peace plan incongruent with the country's diplomatic stance.
On the sidelines of the party’s national meeting on Wednesday, secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said Indonesia did not need a leader who made suggestions that strayed from the country’s principle of “free and active” diplomacy.
“There should be no leader in this country making foreign and defense policies, including a peace proposal, by leaving out the free and active principle [as reflected in our] leadership at the Asian-African Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement, or disregarding the way the country respects United Nations resolutions," Hasto said.
“Jokowi has emphasized that [the proposal] did not come from the President. This is a very clear explanation from the President himself," Hasto said. "All [policies] must be in unison with the President."
Hasto claimed that if PDI-P candidate Ganjar were to take a public stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, he would remain faithful to the free and active principle and his proposals would not elicit international backlash.
The party would incorporate defense and diplomacy issues into Ganjar's campaign platform, Hasto added, ahead of the 2024 presidential race.
