Page 11 - aruba-today-20190406

A11
WORLD NEWS Saturday 6 april 2019
Indonesia president has big poll lead as election nears

By STEPHEN WRIGHT has come to a standstill in
Associated Press many other parts of Asia,
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — according to the agencies
Opinion surveys two weeks that included UNICEF, the
ahead of presidential and World Health Organization
legislative elections in the and World Food Program.
world’s third-largest de- Meanwhile, the Pew Re-
mocracy show Indonesian search Center, in research
President Joko Widodo and released Thursday, said
his ruling coalition main- Indonesians are increas-
taining a large lead over ingly optimistic about their
the rival camp. country’s current and fu-
Four nationwide surveys ture economic situation.
conducted in the second As of last summer, two thirds
half of March show Widodo of Indonesians said the
between 13 and 20 per- economy was doing well
centage points ahead of compared with almost the
former special forces gen- same number saying it was
eral Prabowo Subianto, doing poorly before Wido-
though undecided voters do was elected in 2014.
are as high as 20%. The March opinion surveys
The race has tightened showed the coalition of
modestly since late last parties that has coalesced
year, but pollsters say Wido- around Widodo since his
do, who has had a com- In this Sept. 21, 2018, file photo, Indonesian presidential candidates Joko Widodo, left, and his election would gain about
manding lead for months, running mate Ma’ruf Amin, show the ballot number that will represent them in the 2019 presidential 60% of the vote compared
especially in populous East election, during a draw at the General Election Commission office in Jakarta, Indonesia. with 37% for the parties al-
and Central Java, is head- Associated Press lied with Subianto.
ed for victory in the April questioning the integrity of more than 260 million. He The U.N.’s Food and Agri- Religion has not figured in
17 election. Widodo, the the upcoming vote, appar- has highlighted significant culture Organization and the election campaign as
first Indonesian president ently setting the ground- problems facing the coun- other international agen- prominently as expected
from outside the Jakarta work for a repeat of his un- try including poverty and cies said earlier this week in the predominantly Mus-
elite, has campaigned on successful challenge to the particularly the tragedy of that the percentage of In- lim nation. Widodo at least
progress in upgrading inad- 2014 results. stunting — malnutrition in donesian children suffering partially neutralized criti-
equate infrastructure and Subianto’s ultra-nationalis- children younger than 5 from stunting fell to 30.8% cism he is insufficiently Mus-
reducing poverty. He nar- tic campaign has focused that causes lifelong physi- from nearly 38% between lim by naming a conserva-
rowly defeated Subianto in on what he sees as Indo- cal and mental impair- 2013 and 2018. tive cleric, Ma’ruf Amin, as
the 2014 president election. nesia’s weakness in the ment. But the government During the same period, the his running mate.
Far behind in the polls, world relative to its vast has been able to show reduction in the number of Personality differences also
Subianto and his team land area rich in natural re- progress in alleviating those hungry and malnourished appear to have worked in
have recently resorted to sources and population of long-standing crises. people, including children, Widodo’s favor.q

Duterte warns of ‘revolutionary government’ and arrests

By JIM GOMEZ Loretta Ann Rosales said up to China’s aggression,
Associated Press the country’s 1987 constitu- President Duterte threatens
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — tion guarantees freedom of his own people with war-
The Philippine president, in speech, including criticism rantless arrests and war,”
his latest outburst against of officials. She said habeas Hontiveros said. Duterte
critics, warned he would corpus, which requires the acknowledged the term
declare a “revolutionary state to justify a citizen’s “revolutionary govern-
government” and arrest his detention, can only be ment” wasn’t clearly de-
detractors if he is pushed suspended during specific fined, but said that it “usu-
against the wall. contingencies such as war ally happens when there
President Rodrigo Duterte or dictatorship. is a military coup or (the)
made the threat late Thurs- “The president should know president goes against his
day in a speech in which that employing tactics own government.” Known
he expressed exasperation from the Marcos playbook for his expletive-laced
with criticism while trying does not end well,” Rosales speeches, Duterte has
to fight criminality. Duterte said, referring to Ferdinand been especially sensitive to
has been known for pro- Marcos, the late Philippine criticism of his crackdown
vocative remarks, which In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, file photo, Philippine President dictator who was ousted in on illegal drugs, which has
Rodrigo Duterte, left, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman
his spokesmen have often Murad Ebrahim, right, flash peace signs following oath-taking a 1986 popular revolt. left more than 5,000 people
downplayed as hyperbole. ceremony for the creation of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Opposition Sen. Risa Hon- dead in clashes police say
“I have enough problems (BTA) at the Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines. tiveros said Duterte should occurred when suspects
with criminality, drugs, re- Associated Press confront China over its fought back. Western gov-
bellion and all, but if you you,” Duterte said, adding Duterte’s threat drew con- increasingly aggressive ernments and human rights
push me to the extreme, I that he is willing to face the cern from democracy and actions in the disputed groups have expressed
will declare the suspension consequences. “I am will- human rights advocates. South China Sea instead alarm over the killings and
of the writ of habeas cor- ing to be hanged. I’m will- Former Commission on Hu- of threatening civil liber- sought an independent in-
pus and I will arrest all of ing to die.” man Rights chairwoman ties. “Instead of standing vestigation. q