REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has clarified his statement on Russian propaganda. He reiterated that he did not refer to Russia as a country.
"Yes, we did not talk about a country, yes," President Jokowi said here, Tuesday evening.
The terminology of Russian propaganda was mentioned in an article issued by Rand Corporation, a US political consultant institute, in 2016, he said. The Russian propaganda means a technique of firehose of falsehood, according to Rand Corporation.
A firehose of falsehood, lies and hoaxes could affect and create uncertainty, Jokowi said. The President said the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Russia are very sound.
"I and President Putin have very very good relations," Jokowi said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Jakarta has stressed that Russia does not intervene in the Indonesian presidential election.
The embassy was responding to a statement by Jokowi in Solo, Central Java, on Sunday that the one using a foreign consultant in politics tended to not think of the impact on the people, one of them being through the theory of Russian propaganda.
On its official Twitter account @RusEmbJakarta on Monday, the embassy said the term "Russian propaganda" was engineered in the United States in 2016 within the framework of the presidential election campaign. According to the Russian government, the term was by no means based on reality.
"We underline that the principal position of Russia is to not intervene in the internal affairs and electoral processes of other countries, including Indonesia, which is our close friend and important partner. -- Russian Embassy, IDN (@RusEmbJakarta) February 4, 2019," the Russian embassy tweeted.
Airlangga Hartarto, chairman of the Golkar Party, later clarified that incumbent presidential candidate Jokowi did not accuse Russia of meddling in the Indonesian presidential election. He added that one country indeed should not meddle in the political process of another nation.
"The statement's context is not inter-countries," Hartarto stated here, Monday evening (Feb 4).
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