Jokowi, Indonesia’s Trudeau, faces his own reckoning

The Indonesian parliament was about to pass a revised version of the country’s criminal code after years of debate—and the public finally noticed that it is a nightmare of prejudice and intolerance. Many people were aghast, and the public protests began at once.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, on the margins of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in 2017. Mr. Widodo, who has been compared to Mr. Trudeau, is facing his own reckoning over a raft of controversial changes to the country's criminal code. Photograph courtesy of the Embassy of Canada to Indonesia and Timor-Leste via Facebook

Opinion

BY Gwynne Dyer

October 2, 2019

LONDON, U.K.—The news out of Indonesia this week is disturbing. In West Papua, the Indonesian-ruled half of the world’s second-biggest island, New Guinea, the native people are definitely restive. About 1.8 million of them, 70 per cent of West Papua’s native pop...

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Enjoy unlimited website access and the digital newspaper.

Cancel anytime.

Already a Subscriber?

Get Weekend Point of View Newsletter

A round up of the past weekâ€™s opinion writers and columnists on Saturdays and Sundays.

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy