Indonesian lawmakers question police chief about wiretaps alleged to target President Prabowo

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's police chief is set to appear before a parliamentary panel Thursday as lawmakers investigate allegations that President Prabowo Subianto was targeted in an illegal wiretapping

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s police chief is set to appear before a parliamentary panel Thursday as lawmakers investigate allegations that President Prabowo Subianto was targeted in an illegal wiretapping operation by several high-ranking officials, including his own chief of staff.

The wiretap allegations, which have rattled the country’s political and security establishment, came to light after three senior police generals were detained including Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who was named chief of staff to Prabowo in October and has close ties to former President Joko Widodo. Since then, a fourth top police official has been implicated.

Prabowo’s office said the operation was being investigated as a case of possible treason. The government ordered 20,000 troops to Jakarta as a precaution, though there has not yet been any sign of a major military presence on the streets of the capital, with most kept on standby in barracks.

Part of the investigation is determining the origin of the order to wiretap the president.

Widodo, known popularly in Indonesia as Jokowi, has ties to the main suspects, which already has deepened a rift between the former president and Prabowo, said Evan Laksmana, a Singapore-based analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“The majority of Prabowo’s political decision making in the past two years always have some Jokowi overshadowing,” Laksmana said. “So this is kind of Prabowo finally potentially stepping out of Jokowi’s shadow and maybe even going into open political confrontation.”

National Police Chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto was expected to field questions from parliament’s Commission III, which oversees law enforcement and security affairs and is trying to determine the motive behind the wiretapping operation and uncover whether others were involved. Seto, whose office oversees the current investigation, took over from Listyo Sigit Prabowo as national police chief after the latter was named Prabowo’s chief of staff.

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