Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto wins presidency with first-round majority

Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto wins presidency with first-round majority
President-elect Prabowo Subianto salutes as he delivers his speech after the country’s election commission announced last month’s election result, Jakarta, Indonesia, Mar. 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 21 March 2024
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Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto wins presidency with first-round majority

Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto wins presidency with first-round majority
  • Fiery defense minister and his vice presidential running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka — eldest son of outgoing leader Joko Widodo — already declared victory last month
  • Prabowo also offered his thanks to Jokowi, his former rival against whom he lost two election battles in 2014 and 2019

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto has been elected president of the world’s third-biggest democracy, the elections commission said Wednesday, beating two rivals who have vowed to file legal complaints about the vote.
The fiery defense minister and his vice presidential running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka — eldest son of outgoing leader Joko Widodo — already declared victory last month after unofficial counts showed them winning a majority.
They were officially confirmed as winners Wednesday after receiving more than 96 million votes, commission chairman Hasyim Asy’ari said, roughly 58.6 percent of the total and enough to secure a first-round majority.
“This decision is effective immediately as of March 20,” Asy’ari said.
Anies Baswedan secured 24.9 percent of the vote, while Ganjar Pranowo received more than 16 percent.
More than 164 million Indonesians voted, representing around an 80 percent turnout of eligible voters.
Prabowo, 72, was widely predicted to win the presidency on his third attempt. He takes over in October after a transition period.
Speaking outside his house in the capital Jakarta to thunderous applause from supporters, Prabowo thanked Indonesians and his party for helping him rise to the country’s highest office.
“We are grateful to the God Almighty for the official announcement from the KPU on the results of the election,” he said, referring to the elections commission.
“We would like to convey our gratitudes and the highest appreciation for all the people of Indonesia who have exercised their rights to vote.”
His popularity soared because of what experts said was his nationalist verve in populist speeches, strongman credentials as defense minister and backing from Widodo, more popularly known as Jokowi.
Prabowo also offered his thanks to Jokowi, his former rival against whom he lost two election battles in 2014 and 2019.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken quickly offered “sincere congratulations” to Prabowo, saying Washington looked “forward to partnering closely” with the ex-general, who was once placed on a US visa blacklist.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed his congratulations, saying in a statement that he looked forward “to deepening our strategic partnership even further” on issues like climate change.
Prabowo’s rivals, former Jakarta governor Anies and former Central Java governor Ganjar, have vowed to submit a complaint to the Constitutional Court about allegations of election irregularities and fraud.
Anies confirmed after results were announced that he would file a complaint to the court.
“A leader that was born out of a process tainted by cheating and violations will result in a regime that will produce policies that are full of unfairness, and we don’t want this to happen,” he said in a statement.
But Prabowo’s legal team is confident the result will not be successfully challenged because of his wide margin of victory, local media reported Tuesday.
Last month Indonesia held one of the world’s biggest single-day elections featuring hundreds of thousands of candidates vying for the presidency, parliamentary seats and local legislator positions.
After failing as a vice presidential candidate in 2009 and presidential candidate in 2014 and 2019, Prabowo rode to victory this time with Jokowi’s support.
The campaign was punctuated by accusations of ethical violations and interference by Jokowi, who critics said manoeuvered to install a political dynasty through his son before leaving office.
“Jokowi is the X factor that heavily influenced Prabowo’s victory,” said Firman Noor, politics professor at the National Research and Innovation Agency.
He has also tried to please Prabowo, experts say, by making him an honorary four-star general as the outgoing leader bids to keep his influence under the new administration.
Indonesia’s next president has also weathered allegations from rights groups and his former bosses that he played a role in the disappearance of student activists in the late 1990s at the end of dictator Suharto’s rule.
Between 1997 and 1998, when some kidnappings took place, Subianto led the elite army force known as Kopassus, used by Jakarta for special operations aimed at tamping down internal unrest. More than a dozen activists were never found.
He was discharged from the military over the kidnappings but has denied direct responsibility and the accusations appeared to have little impact on his electoral hopes this time.
Prabowo will inherit Southeast Asia’s largest economy, which is enjoying around five percent growth annually.
There is voter optimism about the economy with Prabowo’s pledge to carry on Jokowi’s resource nationalism that seeks to turn Indonesia into a global nickel powerhouse.
Others are less sure about the security of the country’s young democracy.
“I see the future of democracy becoming even bleaker during Prabowo’s time,” said Hurriyah, director of the University of Indonesia’s Center for Political Studies.


France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister

France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister
Updated 56 min 9 sec ago
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France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister

France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister
  • France announced the delivery of the first fighter jets as talk of a negotiated end to the nearly three-year war has risen with Donald Trump back in the White House and Ukraine’s troops struggling on

Paris: France on Thursday delivered a first consignment of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Thursday.
“The first of these aircraft have arrived in Ukraine today,” Lecornu said on X, without saying how many had been delivered. After France helped train Ukrainian pilots over recent months, “they will now help defend Ukraine’s skies,” he added.
Last June, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would transfer Mirage 2000-5 aircraft to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of military cooperation with Kyiv.
Of the 26 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft owned by the French air force, six were to be transferred to Ukraine, according to a budget report published by France’s National Assembly lower house.
The French defense ministry neither denied nor confirmed the figure for security reasons.
Ukrainian pilots and mechanics have been trained in eastern France to use the jets, which have undergone modifications including to combat Russian jamming.
France announced the delivery of the first fighter jets as talk of a negotiated end to the nearly three-year war has risen with Donald Trump back in the White House and Ukraine’s troops struggling on the battlefield in the east.
In August, Ukraine received its first consignment of US-made F-16 fighter jets.


Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza
Updated 06 February 2025
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Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

MADRID: Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday rejected the suggestion by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz that Spain should accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza.
“Gazans’ land is Gaza and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state,” Albares said in an interview with Spanish radio station RNE.
Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of residents from the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.
The instruction followed US President Donald Trump’s shock announcement that the United States plans to take over Gaza, resettle the Palestinians living there and transform the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Katz added Spain, Ireland and Norway, which last year recognized a Palestinian state, are “legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories.”


Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home

Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home
Updated 06 February 2025
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Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home

Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home
  • The house symbolized Bangladesh’s establishment, as Mujibur Rahman declared independence from there
  • Much of Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s family, including her father, was assassinated in the same building in 1975

DHAKA: Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh’s founding leader, as his daughter, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a fiery social media speech calling on her supporters to stand against the interim government.
Witnesses said several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks, hammers, and other tools, gathered around the historic house and independence monument, while others brought a crane and excavator to demolish the building.
The rally was organized alongside a broader call, dubbed “Bulldozer Procession,” to disrupt Hasina’s scheduled 9 p.m. online address on Wednesday.
Protesters, many aligned with the “Students Against Discrimination” group, had expressed their fury over Hasina’s speech, which they viewed as a challenge to the newly formed interim government.
Tensions have been escalating in Bangladesh since August 2024, when mass protests forced Hasina to flee to neighboring India.
The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has struggled to maintain control as protests and unrest have continued. Demonstrators have attacked symbols of Hasina’s government, including the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which was first set ablaze in August.
A symbol of the country’s establishment, the house is where Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), as he is popularly known, declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
A few years later it became the site of a national tragedy. Mujibur Rahman and most of his family were assassinated at the house in 1975. Hasina, who survived the attack, later transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy.
“They can demolish a building, but not the history. History takes its revenge,” Hasina said in her speech on Wednesday.
She urged the people of Bangladesh to stand against the interim government, accusing them of seizing power in an unconstitutional manner.
The student-led movement behind the protests has voiced plans to dismantle the country’s 1972 Constitution, which they argue embodies the legacy of her father’s rule.


What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order

What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order
Updated 06 February 2025
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What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order

What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order
  • Trump’s executive order aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country

SEATTLE: A federal judge who already questioned the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order is set to hear arguments Thursday over a longer-term pause of the directive, which aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country.
US District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle has scheduled a hearing involving lawyers from the Trump administration, four states suing to stop the order, and an immigrant rights organization, which is challenging it on behalf of a proposed class of expectant parents.
The latest proceeding comes just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants’ rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.
Here’s a closer look at where things stand on the president’s birthright citizenship order.
Where do things stand on birthright citizenship?
The president’s executive order seeks to end the automatic grant of citizenship to children born on US soil to parents who are in the country illegally or who are here on a temporary, but lawful, basis such as those on student or tourist visas.
For now, though, it’s on hold. Two weeks ago, Coughenour called the order “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking its implementation. On Wednesday, US District Judge Deborah Boardman followed that up with an injunction keeping it on hold long-term, until the merits of the case are resolved, barring a successful appeal by the Trump administration.
Asked by Boardman if the administration would appeal, an attorney for the administration said he didn’t immediately have the authority to make that decision.
What’s happening in the latest case?
On Thursday, the birthright citizenship issue is back before Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee. During a hearing last month, he said the case stood out in his more than four decades as a federal judge. “I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is,” he told a Justice Department attorney.
His temporary order blocking the executive action was set to expire Thursday when he’ll hear arguments over whether he should issue an injunction similar to the one issued by the judge in Maryland.
What about the other cases challenging the president’s order?
In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action.
The matter before the Seattle judge Thursday involves four states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. It also has been consolidated with a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Eighteen states, led by Iowa, have filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief supporting the Trump administration’s position in the case.
Yet another hearing is set for Friday in a Massachusetts court. That case involves a different group of 18 states challenging the order, including New Jersey, which is the lead plaintiff.
What’s at issue here?
At the heart of the lawsuits is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, which held Scott, an enslaved man, wasn’t a citizen despite having lived in a state where slavery was outlawed.
The plaintiffs argue the amendment, which holds that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” are indisputably citizens.
The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.
“The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to ... the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws,” the government argued in reply to the Maryland plaintiffs’ suit.
Attorneys for the states have argued that it certainly does — and that has been recognized since the amendment’s adoption, notably in an 1898 US Supreme Court decision. That decision, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, held that the only children who did not automatically receive US citizenship upon being born on US soil were children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the US during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.
The US is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.


Malaysia says forced displacement of Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing

Malaysia says forced displacement of Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing
Updated 06 February 2025
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Malaysia says forced displacement of Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing

Malaysia says forced displacement of Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing
  • Muslim-majority Malaysia has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has long advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia sees any proposal for the forced displacement of Palestinians as constituting ethnic cleansing and a violation of international law, the foreign ministry said on Thursday after US President Donald Trump proposed a US takeover of Gaza.
“Malaysia strongly opposes any proposal that could lead to the forced displacement or movement of Palestinians from their homeland. Such inhumane actions constitute ethnic cleansing and are clear violations of international law and multiple UN resolutions,” the statement said.
The ministry said it supported a two-state solution as the path to lasting peace and stability.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has long advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Malaysia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said he maintains good relations with the political wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas but has no connection with its military wing.
Neighbouring Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, said late on Wednesday it rejected “any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians or alter the demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Any such action would obstruct a two-state solution being realized, the ministry said, saying Indonesia called on the international community to ensure respect for international law.