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Jokowi's campaign team calls on Ratna to report assault to police
Ratna, who is part of presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto's campaign team, was reportedly assaulted in Bandung, West Java, and suffered injuries to her face, as indicated in pictures that circulated on social media on Tuesday that show her swollen eyes and a bruised face.
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Ratna Sarumpaet (second left) meets with presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, National Mandate Party (PAN) patron Amien Rais and Gerindra deputy chairman Fadli Zon at Prabowo's residence in South Jakarta on Tuesday. (Courtesy of/Prabowo campaign)
T
he Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin ticket has called on antigovernment activist Ratna Sarumpaet to report an alleged assault against her to prevent speculation over the nature of the incident.
Ratna, who is part of presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto's campaign team, was reportedly assaulted in Bandung, West Java, and suffered injuries to her face, as indicated in pictures that circulated on social media on Tuesday that show her swollen eyes and a bruised face.
Raja Juli Antoni, the secretary-general of the Indonesia Solidarity Party (PSI), said he read about the alleged assault against Ratna on the news and that he was saddened by it.
"I hope that the incident does not have any political motives and it is only about personal and interpersonal issues," Antoni said in a statement on Tuesday. "To prevent wild speculation and to make the problem clearer, I hope Ibu Ratna will immediately report [the incident] to the police."
Similarly, Abdul Kadir Karding, National Awakening Party (PKB) secretary-general, said the alleged assault must be investigated and the attackers must receive severe punishment.
"We from [Jokowi's] campaign team want the case to be investigated thoroughly so that it will not be used as a political tool," Karding said.
The deputy chairwoman of the Prabowo-Sandiaga Uno campaign team, Nanik S. Deyang, said on Tuesday that the incident took place on Sept. 21 near Husein Sastranegara International Airport. Ratna and several Sri Lankan and Malaysian friends were looking to take a taxi from a hotel after attending a conference.
“Ratna started to be cautious when her taxi stopped a bit far from the crowd. Her two friends walked to the airport while Ratna was grabbed by three unknown people to a quiet place where she was then beaten. Her stomach was kicked,” Nanik said, repeating Ratna’s account during a closed-door meeting with Prabowo, National Mandate Party (PAN) patron Amien Rais and Gerindra Party deputy chairman Fadli Zon.
After she was beaten, Nanik said, Ratna was thrown to the side of the road, injuring her head. She was conscious when a taxi driver picked her up. The driver dropped her off on the side of a road around Cimahi.
Ratna searched for a ride to a hospital in Cimahi and called her friend, who is a surgeon. “Ratna went back to Jakarta directly [after the medical treatment],” Nanik said, adding that Ratna was traumatized and decided to keep silent about the incident.
Politicians from the Prabowo camp suspected that the incident was political as it took place ahead of the 2019 presidential election.
Amien said after the meeting with Ratna that Prabowo would talk to National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian and other opposition figures about the alleged assault. It is unclear, however, if the the opposition camp will file a formal report about the assault to the police.
