Jakarta

Advertisment

As Prabowo Subianto is almost certain to become the next Indonesian president, families of activists who were tortured by soldiers 25 years ago have expressed shock over the victory of the ex-special forces commander and current defence minister.

The families, standing outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, held posters with photographs of the generals they held responsible for the 1998 disappearances, news agency Associated Press reported.

One of the photographs showed Subianto, who was a former top general and commander of the army’s special forces called Kopassus.

Advertisment

The Kopassus unit was blamed for human rights abuses including the torture of 22 activists who had opposed dictator Suharto's rule.

An appeal to Prabowo

Speaking to the Associated Press, 77-year-old Paian Siahaan, whose activist son was brutally assaulted by soldiers after Suharto’s rule collapsed in 1998, said that if Prabowo would be the next president of Indonesia, he should "resolve the enforced disappearance cases so that we, the victims’ families, can have peace."

Advertisment

File photo.

In this photo from Feb 15, 2024, families of activists hold posters with photographs of the generals they held responsible for the 1998 disappearances. 

Another protester, 71-year-old Maria Catarina Sumarsih, told the news agency that her son was shot by security forces in 1998 on a university campus. In a letter addressed to outgoing president Joko Widodo, Maria condemned Prabowo's election victory. 

Also read | Who is Prabowo Subianto, the fiery nationalist-turned politician, likely to be Indonesia's next president?

Prabowo, 72, has long been dogged by accusations of past misdeeds including involvement in the kidnapping of activists in 1998 and human rights abuses in Papua and East Timor. The allegations remain unproven to this day.

He was dismissed from the army in 1998 and was banned from travelling to the United States for the alleged abuses. However, the ban was lifted when he was named defence minister in 2019.

He has always denied the claims and when pressed, has said all operations he conducted were legal.

Also watch | Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto claims victory within four hours

×

In this year's election campaign, Subianto avoided human rights issues and benefitted from many voters’ focus on his promise to continue Widodo’s economic roadmap, Adhi Primarizki of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told the Associated Press.

Over 60% of Gen Z voters back Prabowo

According to a report by the news agency Reuters, pre-election results showed that over 60 per cent of Gen Z voters backed Prabowo, many of whom were likely too young to remember the events of 1998.

“Unfortunately, human rights issues are not a popular issue in this election,” Primarizki said and pointed out that many voters were too young to witness human rights abuses during Suharto's rule. 

(With inputs from agencies)