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Indonesia will hold its first-ever direct presidential elections in July 2004. Noting that Indonesia is "a thriving democracy where public opinion matters," a partner in the Jakarta-based PR firm Maverick writes in today's Jakarta Post that "the more forward-thinking" candidates "have already appointed their image gurus." Not every candidate will clean up well, though. General Wiranto [7], who is waging a well-financed and politically well-regarded campaign, stands accused of crimes against humanity by the United Nations. The charges [8] stem from Indonesian military and militia violence in East Timor in 1999, when people in that country voted for independence from Indonesia in an UN-organized referendum.
Links:
[1] http://dev.prwatch.org/users/6/diane-farsetta
[2] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/democracy
[3] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/human-rights
[4] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/international
[5] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/politics
[6] http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdev.prwatch.org%2Fspin%2F2004%2F01%2F2385%2Fhard-spin-war-crimes-suspect-president&linkname=A%20Hard%20Spin%3A%20War%20Crimes%20Suspect%20to%20President
[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/16/international/asia/16INDO.html
[8] http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/indictmentspdf/SCUWiranto270203.htm
[9] http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20040119.E03&irec=2