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Senior minister to visit political exiles abroad next month
During the overseas tour, the government team will update the number of Indonesian political exiles residing abroad and hear their insights on the nonjudicial settlement of past human rights cases, a senior official said.
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Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD (second right) speaks with journalists during a press briefing on the settlement of past human rights violations at the ministry's office in Jakarta on June 26, 2023. (Antara/Hafidz A. Mubarak)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s senior minister will go on a tour in late August to visit political exiles living abroad following the 1965 tragedy as part of the government’s nonjudicial settlement on past human rights violations.
Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD will bring his team during his trip to the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. The entourage will hear from the exiles on insights for the settlement program and update government data on the number of exiles residing overseas.
According to the latest data, at least 130 political exiles who were stripped of their Indonesian citizenship after the 1965 incident are currently living in 12 countries. The number is higher than the 39 stipulated in the government’s preliminary findings announced by Mahfud in early May.
The Netherlands and Czech Republic are among the countries with the most political exiles, with 67 and 14 people respectively currently residing in those countries.
The number was expected to increase following the trip, said Lt. Gen. Teguh Pudjo Rumekso, the coordinating ministry secretary who leads the government’s implementation team on the nonjudicial settlement.
“Our goal of holding meetings with victims of gross human rights violations abroad is to verify their numbers and hear their insights on our program,” Teguh told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
