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Prabowo no longer barred from the US: Gerindra executive
The Gerindra executive said Prabowo had met with representatives of some foreign countries, including that of the US, after he was inaugurated as defense minister.
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Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto waves toward journalists as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (unseen) unveils his new Cabinet on the steps of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Oct. 23. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
G
erindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto, who currently serves as the country’s defense minister, is no longer barred from entering the United States, which in the past had denied entry to the former military general, a Gerindra executive has said.
Party deputy chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said that since Prabowo had been inaugurated to lead the defense ministry, the latter had met with representatives of some foreign countries, including that of the US.
“During the meetings, they also extended invitations to [Prabowo] to visit [their countries],” Dasco said on Tuesday.
However, Dasco said it was still unclear when Prabowo could take up the invitations because the Gerindra chairman was still busy adapting to his new job and preparing for future programs of the Defense Ministry.
“Thus the plans to visit foreign countries, including the US, are not yet scheduled,” he added.
During his time in the Army, Prabowo was accused of being involved in human rights abuses, including the forced disappearance of 13 prodemocracy activists between 1997 and 1998, just before his former father-in-law and then-president Soeharto stepped down from power.
In 2000, the US State Department denied Prabowo a visa to attend his son’s university graduation in Boston, without any explanation, according to a Tempo news magazine report in 2014.
According to the US Embassy in Jakarta, visa records are confidential under US law and, therefore, it cannot reveal the details of individual visa cases.
In 2012, Prabowo told Reuters that he was still denied a US visa due to allegations that Prabowo had instigated riots that killed hundreds of people prior to Soeharto’s downfall. The former general has denied all allegations. (afr)
