Prabowo Subianto, a former Indonesian general with a checkered human rights record (pictured), announced that he’ll run for president in an election due next year, confirming an establishment challenger to current President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. The nationalist politician made the announcement at his expansive residence in Bogor in West Java. It will be his second attempt at the presidency of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation after being defeated by Jokowi, a maverick candidate, in 2014. Subianto heads the opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party, known by its Indonesian acronym Gerindra, and is likely to win support from Islamic parties. Jokowi was the first Indonesian from outside the country’s political and military elite to win the presidency. The 2014 campaign was marred by dirty campaigning and wild internet rumors that Jokowi was a secret communist, an accusation often used in Indonesia to discredit or intimidate political opponents. Gerindra’s secretary-general, Ahmad Muzani, said a meeting of more than 3,500 party officials and cadres had officially given a mandate to Subianto to run for the presidency in 2019.
Bangladesh: Myanmar official meets Rohingya refugees
A Myanmar Cabinet minister has visited a sprawling refugee camp in Bangladesh for Rohingya Muslims, who told him of the violence that forced them to flee Myanmar and presented a list of demands for their repatriation. A Rohingya leader, Abdur Rahim, said at least eight women rape victims were among about 40 refugees who met yesterday with Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar (pictured). Rahim said they presented 13 demands for the government to meet for their return to Myanmar. Bangladesh refugee commissioner Abul Kalam said the minister listened to the refugees and replied to their questions. About 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled army-led violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar since last August. The two countries have agreed to begin repatriations.
Cambodia: Gov’t deports 89 suspects in online scam to China
Cambodia has deported nearly 100 Chinese citizens accused of defrauding people in China in an internet scam. A senior Interior Ministry official, Gen. Ouk Haiseila, said yesterday the 89 suspects, including 15 women, were flown out of the Cambodian capital on two planes sent by the Chinese government. He said members of the group contacted women in China over social media and tricked them into sending nude or erotic photos, then extorted money by threatening to spread the images online. Ouk Haiseila said their deportation Tuesday came after their arrest last month. Online scams by Chinese gangs that operate from foreign countries and target mainland Chinese are common throughout Southeast Asia. Since 2012, Cambodia has sent at least 1,000 Chinese and Taiwanese residents involved in such schemes to China.
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