Surprise!JOKO WIDODO, Indonesia’s president, universally known as Jokowi, reshuffled his cabinet on July 27th for the second time since taking office in late 2014. Although observers had expected only minor fiddling, he made big changes.
Most contentious is the appointment of Wiranto (who like many Indonesians uses only one name) as chief security minister. Mr Wiranto (pictured) served as defence minister and head of the armed forces under Suharto, Indonesia’s late strongman, and afterwards during the independence referendum in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) in 1999. Between 1,000 and 2,000 civilians are thought to have lost their lives before and after the vote. Many more were forced to flee their homes. In 2003 a UN-backed court in Timor-Leste indicted Mr Wiranto for crimes against humanity. He has never appeared before it to answer the charges.
Human-rights groups reacted with dismay. They were already decrying Indonesia’s plans to execute by firing squad 14 people, most of them foreigners convicted of drug offences. Keith Loveard, a political-risk consultant in Jakarta, thinks that Mr Wiranto’s...Continue reading
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