REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A leader of the new Indonesian political party Partai Solidaritas Indonesia (PSI), Tsamara Amany Alatas issued a news release to clarify his statement considered discrediting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tsamara's statement that Indonesia does not need a leader like President Putin has drawn protest from a Russian mass media, Russia Beyond The Headline (RBTH).

"I very well understand the protest by RBTH, which is a Russian tool for international campaign. It is just natural that RBTH would defend Putin's international reputation," Tsamara said.

She said her statement was intended only for the Indonesian public, and it was in reaction to statement by Deputy Chairman of the Gerindra Party Fadli Zon, who said that Indonesia should look for a leader like Putin.

"As said by RBTH, certainly Fadli has the right to admire Putin, but I also feel obliged to warn Indonesians that leader like Putin is not the right one for the country, which is set to uphold democracy and fight corruption," she said.

She said by criticizing Putin does not means she was against the Russian people "who have admirable cultures."

"It is the same when we criticized Donald Trump and his way of winning elections by using identity politics. It does not mean we are against the American people," she said.

She said her opinion seeing Putin as being dictatorial, authoritarian, allowing organized corruption to live is based on leading mass media reports and research institutions in democratic countries.

"I only referred to those analyses such as a survey by The Economist in 2017, which placed Russia as being ruled by authoritarian regime," she added.

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