22 May 2019
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- 6 Die in Indonesia Riots, Widodo Says He Won’t Allow Unrest
6 Die in Indonesia Riots, Widodo Says He Won’t Allow Unrest
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the country’s capital under control after six people died Wednesday in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last month’s presidential election.
The clashes began Tuesday night when supporters of former Gen. Prabowo Subianto tried to force their way into the downtown offices of the election supervisory agency and continued unabated until ebbing on Wednesday evening.
“The bottom line is the people who are protesting and rioting in the past 24 hours represent a small minority of Indonesian voters and a small minority of Indonesian Muslims,” said Alexander Arifanto, an Indonesian politics expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
“The vast majority of both clearly accepted the election results. By tacitly backing the protesters, Prabowo has lost any remaining legitimacy he had left and clearly shows his true colors as a narcissistic New Order-era relic,” Arifanto said, referring to the Suharto era.
IDSS / Online
