By : Otjih Sewandarijatun *)
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) should have been on a state visit to Australia this week, but instead spent the past two days visiting the country's armed forces and major Islamic organizations in a bid to maintain stability in the country amid public outrage involving blasphemy allegations made against the Jakarta governor.
The President was forced to postpone his visit to Canberra, scheduled for November 6 to 8, after more than hundred thousands people took to the streets in Jakarta to demand the prosecution of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for allegedly insulting the Alquran.
The rally which initially ran peacefully, turned violent after dark, leaving one protester dead and several police officers injured. Five HMI activists, including its secretary-general, have been charged with instigating the violence. In the past two days, the President has been scrambling to maintain national stability after the rally.
The President said, during the closed-door meeting with Muhammadiyah leaders, he would not tamper with the ongoing police investigation into Ahok's case. The President has instructed the National Police to run a fair and transparent investigation into Ahok, but rumors that another large rally would take place in the capital in the next two weeks were already rife. The police had promised to decide whether to charge Ahok with blasphemy within two weeks of the rally. "I'd like to underline that I will not protect Basuki Tjahaja Purnama since there is already an ongoing legal process over blasphemy allegations; the public needs to know this," Jokowi said.
On Tuesday, Jokowi reiterated his claim that "political actors" had exploited the November 4 rally, saying that their identities would be revealed after a through investigation by police.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said there was strong information about the suspected political actors who allegedly took advantage of the rally. "There needs to be sufficient evidence. Once there is and it proves a clear violation occurred, we will enforce the law," said Tito.
However, the statement about "political actors" behind November 4th, 2016 rally is hopefully based on valid data, as the President of Indonesia, Jokowi didn't make slanderous or ridicilous statement, because if Jokowi's makes a blunder statement, its could be trigered national uncertainty. Previously, November 4th, 2016 mass rally had been ran smoothly and peacefully, then after dark, its had been changed riots and caused one people dead and several ones was dead.
All of national circle was condemmed why peacefully mass rally could be changed riots? Does it reflect political rivalry among higher politicians in Indonesia? or does it shows that in Indonesia has more an exist radicals group? These questions are make sense because the stability of Indonesia is an essential factors to make regional security situation still stable.
Recently, a number of politician and politics observer in Indonesia has demanded that Jokowi's to make clear statement about who is a political actors behind mass rallies riots on November 4th, 2016. I think Jokowi couldn't explain it more specifically because its any possibilities that Jokowi's statement on it based on an intelligence data or an intelligence analysis or maybe from a political whistle-blower around him.
I guess that Jokowi has received a strong and valid data from an intelligence communities, but because its as an intelligence facts or an intelligence indication so that its could be used as a law evidence. I believe in that Jokowi have been instructed his cabinet specially his intelligence communities didn't hasitate to do their jobs professionally. A lesson learn from November 4th, 2016 mass rallies riots that its had been tainted our democracy.
We must learn more from this case. However, we have several crucial lesson from its. Empowering and boosting nationalistic values among our citizens must be strengthened. Mass rallies riots has been indicated that our people didn't believe in our law mechanism so that we must do law reformation immediately.
*) Social and cultural observer. Resides in Bali, Indonesia.
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