As US dithers over human rights, China opens its arms to Prabowo Subianto, the Indonesian defence minister with a chequered past
- The former special forces general Prabowo Subianto is barred from the US due to claims he was involved in rights abuses during the Suharto era
- But with China and Russia ready to do business with him, the US may have to balance his chequered past with his new-found importance
Prabowo, a former commander of the elite Kopassus troops, was denied a US visa in mid-2000 when he wanted to attend his son’s university graduation in Boston. He told Reuters in 2012 he was still unable to get a US visa, due to accusations that he was behind riots that killed hundreds after the fall of former dictator Suharto in 1998.
On Tuesday, the US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan declined to respond to local reporters who asked if the ban still stood, CNN Indonesia reported. Donovan said human rights remained a “main foundation” for the US but added that it was willing to work with “all members of cabinet”.
A State Department spokesman told This Week in Asia: “Visa records are confidential under US law; therefore, we cannot discuss any individual visa cases. We also cannot speculate on whether someone may or may not be eligible for a visa in the future.”
Irawan Ronodipuro, foreign affairs liaison officer for Prabowo, confirmed there had been no word from the US with regards to the country’s visa policy. “I believe [Prabowo] would positively view a trip to the US if the Trump administration would like to discuss a strengthening of military ties between our two countries,” said Ronodipuro.
Prabowo twice ran against President Joko Widodo and lost. He was appointed to the cabinet on October 23 as part of Widodo’s bid to engineer a political reconciliation. Prabowo’s Gerindra party won 12.57 per cent of the parliamentary vote to take 78 seats in the 575-seat Parliament, making it the third largest bloc.