Political Quotes

“I want to speak briefly about a recent report by the Secretary of State concerning, among other things, impunity within Indonesia's military. This has been a concern of mine, and of many others, for decades. Senate Report 114-290, which accompanies division J of the fiscal year 2017 Consolidated Appropriations Act, requires the Secretary of State to submit a report on steps taken by the Indonesian military to, No. 1, deny promotion, suspend from active service, and/or prosecute and punish military officers who have violated human rights, and to refine further the military's mission and develop an appropriate defense budget to carry out that mission; No. 2, cooperate with civilian judicial authorities to resolve cases of violations of human rights; No. 3, implement reforms that increase the transparency and accountability of the military's budget and operations, and achieve divestment of military businesses; and No. 4, allow unimpeded access to Papua; respect due process and freedom of expression, association, and assembly in Papua; and release Papuans and Moluccans imprisoned for peaceful political activity. The Secretary submitted this report on September 12, 2017, and the information it contains is both disturbing and disappointing. Indonesia became a democracy after many years of brutal, corrupt dictatorship under President Suharto.…”