Amnesty Counters Prabowo: Nation's Main Enemy Not Foreign-Funded NGOs

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, asserts that the nation's primary adversary is not non-governmental organizations (NGOs) funded by foreign sources. Instead, he contends that the forces undermining Indonesia are the elites engaged in corruption.

Usman's statement is a direct response to President Prabowo Subianto's recent remarks. During the Pancasila Day commemoration ceremony at Pancasila Building in Central Jakarta on June 2, 2025, Prabowo claimed that foreign entities finance NGOs to sow discord within Indonesian society.

According to Usman, corruption extends beyond the embezzlement of public funds to include political corruption, which erodes democratic institutions and human rights. The lecturer at Jentera Indonesia Law School also highlighted environmental corruption, which depletes natural resources and manipulates laws for the self-interest of the elite.

"The moral corruption that damages the nation's interests and becomes the interest of family, children, in-laws, grandchildren, and cronies. All of this is perpetrated by corrupt political elites," Usman said in a written message to Tempo on Monday, June 2, 2025.

In his morning address, Prabowo urged the Indonesian people to unite and avoid differences that could lead to conflict. The former general of the Indonesian National Armed Forces suggested that foreign powers are averse to a progressive Indonesia.

"For hundreds of years, they have come; for hundreds of years, they have been sowing discord among us. With their money, they finance NGOs to sow discord among us. They claim to uphold democracy, human rights, press freedom, but those are their own versions," Prabowo asserted.

He clarified that he does not intend to incite suspicion of foreign nations among the Indonesian populace. The former Defense Minister emphasized that Indonesia should not be manipulated by any country.

This is not the first time Prabowo has suggested foreign entities are creating discord in Indonesia. Previously, he also attributed the wave of demonstrations in several regions at the beginning of his administration to foreign intervention.

The Gerindra Party patron chief expressed these views during an interview with six senior journalists at his residence in Sentul, Bogor, West Java, on April 8, 2025. "Take a look, are the demonstrations pure or are they paid for? We need to be objective," Prabowo remarked.

Editor’s Choice: Prabowo Accuses Foreign Powers of Funding NGOs to Sow Discord in Indonesia

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