Jakarta – Scores of demonstrators from the Indonesian People’s United Resistance (PPRI) demonstrated in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday May 20 calling on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to abdicate from his throne.

“This action is not to support [Prabowo Subianto’s] Red-and-White Coalition [KMP] or [Widodo’s] Awesome Indonesia Coalition [KIH]. This action is to build a people’s coalition and political alternative because the current administration has not implemented the mandate and wishes of the people, so it has failed to make any significant reforms to the Indonesian economy. And the parliament [also] cannot overcome [the problem]”, said PPRI public relations officer Surya Anta.

Anta also believes that if the existing political parties (parpol), whether they be part of the KMP (Aburizal Bakrie’s faction of the Golkar Party, Djan Faridz’s faction of the United Development Party (PPP), the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) and the Democrat Party), or those that are part of the KIH (the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Democrats (NasDem), the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI), Agung Laksono’s faction the Golkar Party and Romahurmuziy’s faction of the PPP), if they cannot be relied upon then the people need a political alternative built from the ground up, based on the interests of farmers, the poor and students.

“Change cannot come about just by entering the parliament as a member of the existing political parties, including the PDI-P, the PKB and the NasDem. Moreover there has never been any pro-democratic legislation produced by the parliament”, he added.

Anta hopes that in the future the ordinary people will not so easily be tricked by regime change because the mainstream economy that is being pursued by the Widodo administration is clearly very mainstream and orientated towards the free market and neoliberalism. “Because of this therefore we are calling on Jokowi to step down”, he said in conclusion. (can)

[Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was PPRI Juga Tuntut Jokowi Turun Tahta.]

Source: http://citraindonesia.com/ppri-juga-tuntut-jokowi-turun-tahta/