Jokowi has no plans to apologize for mass killing of alleged communists

JAKARTA, Indonesia – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has no plans of apologizing to the families and victims of the September 30, 1965 movement, which resulted in the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of alleged communists by the army.

This is what Haedar Nasir said, the Chairman of Muhammadiyah –  the second biggest Islamic organization in Indonesia – after meeting with Jokowi at the State Palace on Tuesday, September 22.

“Nothing, and (Jokowi) did not even think about (apologizing),” he said.

“There was a rumor spreading that the government will apologize, but it has been clarified (by the president). The President will make sure it doesn’t happen again, but won’t apologize,” he said.

Rumors of a possible apology first came about when Jokowi delivered a speech in Senayan, Jakarta in August. He talked about “resolving cases of human rights violations in the country,” and how the “government wants national reconciliation so that future generations do not continue to bear the burden of past history.”

This led some people to believe the leader would say sorry for the incidents, but Nasir said if Jokowi apologized, he would have to deal with the reaction from the Islamic organizations such as theirs, as well as the Indonesian military.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said Jokowi has never discussed a plan to apologize in meeting with ministers.

Pramono said, Jokowi is focused on re-boosting the economy.

Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki also confirmed that Jokowi has no plan to apologize.

“(He has) no plan (to apologize) since the beginning,” he told Rappler. – Rappler.com