1Berita News – The United States Government sends a message to presidential candidate number 2, Prabowo Subianto, if he is elected as the President of Indonesia.
The White House still addresses human rights issues in Indonesia in its message.
John Kirby, the spokesperson for the US National Security Council, stated that Washington will never give up on paying attention to and advocating for human rights issues, civil rights, and democratic values.
“And the president will certainly not hesitate to express our concerns,” Kirby said in a press briefing on Tuesday (5/3).
Kirby spoke in response to journalists’ questions about Prabowo’s black record, who was once accused of involvement in cases of forced disappearance of activists in 1998.
Prabowo is currently the leading presidential candidate despite his alleged track record.
According to the interim real count results from the General Election Commission (KPU) as of Wednesday (6/3), Prabowo Subianto garnered 75,361,187 votes or 58.82 percent. This achievement is based on 78.10 percent of the votes counted by the KPU.
Prabowo’s votes far exceeded those of his two rivals, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.
Anies came in second with 31,376,418 votes or 24.49 percent. Meanwhile, Ganjar came in last with 21,374,457 votes or 16.68 percent.
Regarding the general election in Indonesia, Kirby, on behalf of the US, congratulated the success of the simultaneous elections held on February 14.
Kirby stated that Washington is ready to work with the next Indonesian government and strengthen the strategic partnership.
“President [Biden] looks forward to engaging with the new government and strengthening our cooperation under the strategic partnership,” Kirby said.
Kirby also stated that the US is closely monitoring the vote-counting process still ongoing in Indonesia.
“We understand that Minister Subianto has a significant advantage. We have had very good cooperation with him since he became the Minister of Defense,” Kirby said.
Kirby said that if Prabowo is ultimately elected president, the US “hopes to continue that relationship.”
Prabowo Subianto has had a somewhat unpleasant history with the United States.
He was once banned from entering the US due to allegations of involvement in the abduction of Indonesian activists in 1998 and the massacre of East Timorese civilians.
However, the ban was lifted after Prabowo became the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia.
