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Prabowo's threats of people power may be ‘treasonous’
To anticipate any potential trouble, The Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police will jointly deploy 450,000 personnel to guard a number of vital facilities, particularly the offices of the election organizers, with both institutions warning that there may be a number of actions by parties that will not accept the election result when it is announced on May 22.
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Two men wear masks of presidential candidates Joko Widodo (left) and Prabowo Subianto as residents in Joho, Surakarta, Central Java, hold an event on Wednesday to foster harmony in the wake of last week’s elections. (Antara/Maulana Surya )
D
efense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has slammed the threat by Prabowo Subianto camp to mobilize “people power”, saying that the idea could be harmful to the nation if it was implemented and such protests could be considered treasonous.
Ryamizard commented on journalists’ questions about a suggestion made by Prabowo’s team that they would mobilize people on the streets to protest if the General Elections Commission (KPU) does not address their findings of alleged widespread cheating in the recent presidential election.
The former Army general, who has refused to concede defeat and has declared victory multiple times despite quick-count results showing he lost to incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has said that protests may take place if the official count on May 22 confirms his defeat.
“As minister of defense, I don’t like the idea of ‘people power’ because it harms the nation,” Ryamizard said on Wednesday, “I don’t want this nation to be torn apart.”
“If people power is forced through, it could be considered treasonous. There is a punishment for acts of treason,” he went on.
Ryamizard, a retired general himself, hoped that such protests would not take place, saying that if the KPU found no evidence of widespread cheating in the election, all parties must accept the election organizers’ decision.
To anticipate any potential trouble, The Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police will jointly deploy 450,000 personnel to guard a number of vital facilities, particularly the offices of the election organizers, with both institutions warning that there may be a number of actions by parties that will not accept the election result when it is announced on May 22.
