Hamid Awaluddin: They are Paid Protesters
Note from the meeting with Minister of Justice Hamid Awaluddin
Before question & answer session, Ambassador Donillo Anwar requested the Minister to brief us regarding the latest information on current events in Indonesia. Interesting to note that the first word he said was regarding the intense protests currently prevailing in Indonesia and media.
He wanted us “not to bother” with so many protesters filling up media headlines. Because, they’re just doing their jobs. In other words they’re the paid protesters. You can see the same people are protesting multiple times for different causes and, of course, with different banners. The number of them are very small, but they got media attention because, he said, “it’s very easy to take their picture.” So, dont even trust the media. You need to cross-check every news covered by media.
The kind of response, i.e. down-playing the protesters and criticism seems to me as a pattern of current regime. Several months back Minister of Agriculture, Anton Apriantono, during his visit to New Delhi also said no more no less the same tune. He even specified the protesters was carried out by some students who “just dont know what they’re doing.”
The conspiracy theory to any criticism against them held by SBY cabinets is obviously a downside part of SBY regime: criticise us, we woudn’t heard you, the paid protesters!
Is it as simple as that, ministers?