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Prabowo urged to bow out
Jakarta Post - July 18, 2014
Public figures, such as playwright Leila Chudori, singer Nina Tamam, public speaker Pandji Pragiwaksono and film director Riri Riza have submitted letters to Prabowo, ranging from the heartfelt to the plainly pragmatic.
All of them convey the utmost respect for the former Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander in their requests.
Renowned poet and journalist Goenawan Mohammad said in his letter on Monday, "Our country needs you. In any position, whether as winner or loser."
The former Tempo chief editor, who was a vocal critic of the authoritarian Soeharto regime, tried to appeal to Prabowo's honor, reminding him that his rivals considered him and running mate Hatta Rajasa "patriots and statesmen", despite their differences.
Goenawan also said that a political victory was temporary, but that the dream of a better Indonesia would supersede it for the sake of future generations. "Let us respect the people's choice in 2014," he concluded.
Film director Joko Anwar acknowledged that he was motivated to write a letter to Prabowo because of the tendency of his camp to be unrelenting, despite increasing evidence that a Joko "Jokowi" Widodo win was on the horizon.
"This is not only Prabowo's dilemma, but also the people's dilemma. The energy spent throughout this election was massive. Let's just accept the result and move on," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Joko said this year's election would forever be etched into history as the one that successfully propelled the majority of Indonesians to care about their future leader and take part in determining who it should be.
He mentioned in his open letter that, as a film director, he was able to instinctively pick up on playacting or sense someone's sincerity. He said he believed Prabowo really wanted to do something for the country.
"Pak, this country needs a hero, not just a president. Being president doesn't necessarily bring good to the people. But being a hero means having an impact on the lives of the people," Joko wrote.
In response to the letters, Pius Lustrilanang, a lawmaker from Prabowo's Gerindra Party, denied conceding defeat after he posted a short commentary on Facebook, indicating that the losing party would have to be given just as much respect as the winner.
"I never said that we might lose the election. I was saying that whoever loses the race should still be honored just as much as the winner," he told the Post. Pius insisted that the Prabowo camp would not concede defeat ahead of the General Elections Commission's (KPU) official results.
He also said that his colleagues would challenge possible electoral fraud at the Constitutional Court, and that restraint on everyone's part would be the better option rather than forcing others to concede. "For all Jokowi's supporters, be patient. I hope supporters from both camps are prepared either to win or lose."
The open letters, which are mostly written by people who openly supported Jokowi, come in the form of personal reflections, poetry and anecdotes, and are accessible at suratuntukpakbowo.tumblr.com.
As of Thursday evening, 56 open letters had been published on the website. The authors of the letters cited growing concern about dubious results by certain pollsters. They also said they were worried that statements from the two candidates, who both claimed victory in the election, could prompt violations by both sides seeking to rig the final result.
In the end, they all asked Prabowo to gracefully accept the official results if the KPU's tally showed that the rival Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla ticket was indeed the winner of the election. (tjs)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/07/18/prabowo-urged-bow-out.html.
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