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Human rights concerns arise after Jokowi-Prabowo meeting

A prominent rights activist has suggested that both President Joko "Jokowi" Jokowi and Prabowo Subianto are on the same page in terms of human rights, noting that several issues, such as the persecution of minority groups, risk being neglected.

Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Tue, July 16, 2019

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Human rights concerns arise after Jokowi-Prabowo meeting Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto (left) talks to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

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ctivists have criticized a recent meeting between President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his former challenger Prabowo Subianto, saying that it was a political maneuver that risks further pushing human rights issues to the side during the President’s second term.

The long-time political rivals met in public for the first time since the election in Jakarta on Saturday, with both signaling that Prabowo could eventually join Jokowi's ruling coalition after the hard-fought presidential race.

Lokataru Legal and Human Rights Foundation executive director Haris Azhar refused to use the "reconciliation" term that had been thrown around by the two parties and instead described the meeting as mere negotiations between two politicians of similar interests.

Haris suggested that both Jokowi and Prabowo were on the same page in terms of human rights, claiming that neither was willing to tackle important issues, such as the persecution and discrimination of Ahmadiyah followers and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, cases of abuse in Papua and the stigmatization of past members and supporters of the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

"For the next five years, human rights can only advance if [the initiative] comes from Jokowi's own group and when the issues raised do not disrupt the establishment of his people," he said during a discussion forum in Jakarta on Thursday.

In his first presidential bid, Jokowi promised to resolve at least seven cases of past human rights violations, including the 1965 communist purge and the May 1998 riots, earning him support from civil society groups, especially as he was running against a former military general with a checkered human rights record.

However, criticisms arose as activists and families of victims grew disillusioned with the government for its sluggish efforts in addressing the issues. Jokowi, however, reiterated his commitment to dealing with human rights cases during his second term, though he acknowledged that it would not be easy given the timestamp of the incidents.

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