APSN | Wiranto cleared for saying Prabowo thrown out of the TNI

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Wiranto cleared for saying Prabowo thrown out of the TNI

Jakarta Globe - June 26, 2014

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Hotman Siregar & Erwin Cristianson, Jakarta – Indonesia's electoral supervision body said on Wednesday that former army chief of staff General Wiranto had not committed a campaign violation by going on the record to say that presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto was responsible for abducting pro-democracy activists in 1998.

"Wiranto has not been proven to have been conducting a campaign," said Nelson Simanjutak, a commissioner of the board, better known as Bawaslu. "Therefore, it could not be categorized as a campaign and is not an election violation."

Black campaigns, a literal translation of "kampanye hitam" are ubiquitous in Indonesian elections. The scale of the country makes it difficult for election supervisors to sanction those found to have conducted dirty tricks, while the speed with which scandalous news spreads over social media means the benefits often outweigh the risks.

On June 20, Wiranto told reporters that Prabowo Subianto had not received an honorable discharge when he was fired from the military. The former special forces commander left the military disgraced, after he was found to have ordered the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists during 1998. Prabowo has denied the allegations, opaquely referring to himself as a defender of Indonesia's standing and saying anything he did was done under orders.

The subject of Prabowo's allegedly murky past came up in the first televised presidential debate, when Joko Widodo's vice presidential running mate Jusuf Kalla went after the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) candidate.

"He [Wiranto] set the record straight," Nelson said. "Whether it was a black campaign or a crime, Bawaslu must match it with the Election Law. Even though it is not satisfactory for the party that made the complaint – Bawaslu cannot go beyond the Law."

Wiranto held a press conference last week saying that Prabowo, the chief patron of Great Indonesia Movement Party, was discharged from the military after conducting abduction to pro-democracy activists in 1997 and 1998 that was not based on order from the military.

The explanation came following the leaking of a dismissal letter from the Soldiers' Honorary Council (DKP)that revealed Prabowo was thrown out of the army.

"I held the press conference because there are so many requests," Wiranto said after being questioned by Bawaslu on Tuesday. "I have given a proportional explanation. The point is there was no intention of me committing a black campaign."

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/wiranto-cleared-saying-prabowo-thrown-tni/.