Jakarta Headlines: Jakarta arrests instigator of the protests against Christian governor

Geographic areas

» 11/24/2016, 12.08

INDONESIA

Mathias Hariyadi

Buni Yani, a former journalist and professor of communication, is accused of having manipulated the words of Ahok and having incited the radical Muslim groups. A petition calling for his prosecution has collected more than 100 thousand signatures. The fundamentalists promise more protests on 2 December.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesian police have arrested and named as suspect Buni Yani, a former journalist and professor of communications, accused of having incited the protests on 4 November against the Christian governor of Jakarta.

In the days after the event, a petition calling for a trial against Yani had collected more than 100 thousand signatures. The former journalist has confessed to having manipulated the words of Tjahaja Basuki Purnama known as "Ahok", making them seem an insult to Islam and generating the blasphemy charges against the politician.

Yani has been included in the list of suspects after several hours of questioning by police. He is charged with defamation and manipulation in religious matters, one of the four dimensions protected by former President Suharto (1967-1998).

Anyone who was guilty of the crime in one of the so-called Sara (Suku, ethnicity, Agama, religion, Ras, race and Adat-istiadat, local customs) was subject to severe punishment. Now, after the Reformation in 1998 following the fall of Suharto, Indonesians enjoy more freedom of expression and the ability to criticize. Civil society wonders if this freedom has not become too widespread.

Through his Facebook profile, Yani has expressed his disappointment at the arrest: "Now I need my friends and the support of all Muslims. I am under arrest and I cannot go home. " Again it was through the social network that Yani Ahok is accused of having "carried out a religious defamation" after editing a phrase uttered by the governor during a rally.

After the protest on November 4 mass (which was attended by at least 100 thousand people) and the inclusion of Ahok in the trial for blasphemy, radical Muslim groups promise new demonstrations against the governor. The Gerakan Nasional Pe ngawal Fatwa (Gnpf, national movement for the defense of the fatwa) is organizing a "mass prayer" in the central streets of Jakarta on 2 December. The police and the army said they will not tolerate any protest activities.

The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, the two largest moderate Muslim groups, issued a statement ìdistancing themselves from Gnpf and accusing the organizers of the event on December 2 of manipulating the symbols of moderate movements.

See also

07/11/2016 14:33:00 INDONESIAMore than 100,000 signatures against the manipulator of the Jakarta protests

Buni Yani, a communications professor at the London School in Central Jakarta, is accused of having manipulated the words of the capital's Christian governor to make them offensive to Islam. He defended himself by saying he did it "by mistake", but the public wants an investigation.

12/10/2016 17:49:00 INDONESIAJakarta's "blasphemous" Christian governor kicks up a storm

The politician said that the Qur'an should not be used for non-religious purposes. Indonesia's main Islamic groups accuse him of defaming Islam. The campaign to discredit him continues ahead of the upcoming election.

31/10/2016 13:19:00 INDONESIAJakarta Muslims defend Christian governor against Islamic radicals

Radical groups plan a march for 4 November against the city's Christian governor, accused of blasphemy. In fact, the real goal is to divide the country and weaken moderate movements. Extremist groups, possibly linked to the Islamic State, plan to infiltrate protest.

16/11/2016 09:20:00 INDONESIAJakarta, Christian governor Ahok to go on trial for blasphemy

Investigators have entered his name in the official list of suspects. The first breakthrough in the legal case that has been dragging on for weeks. The politician was not arrested but cannot leave the country. The hearings will be broadcast live on TV. Ahok faces up to five years in prison.

15/10/2016 10:23:00 INDONESIAJakarta, thousands of Islamic fundamentalists take to streets against Christian governor

Protest organized by the Islamic Defenders Front: "The Koran calls for all the country's leaders to be Muslims." Basuki Tjahaja Purnama,known as "Ahok" is accused of blasphemy for having quoted the sacred text during a rally. Moderate Muslims distance themselves: "We do not agree with this initiative. The governor apologized. "

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