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Labor unions told to stand down during anti-Ahok rally
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One voice: Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI) chairman Said Iqbal (center) speaks to reporters during a rally on Aug. 31 to urge the Constitutional Court to annul the Tax Amnesty Law, as it considers the law "unfair' to laborers and small-medium enterprises. (JP/Winda Ayu Charmila)
T
he National Police are calling on labor union leaders to postpone their planned rally on Dec. 2 in Jakarta to help maintain peace during a large-scale rally planned on the same day that will call for the arrest of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in a blasphemy case.
"We don't prohibit the labor protest, but we suggest they reschedule it so that other people can pray solemnly [during their protest]," National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Tuesday.
On Dec. 2, a large-scale rally initiated by the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) will take place at National Monument Park in Central Jakarta, during which participants will gather to join in dzikir (chanting), tausiyah (preaching) and Friday prayers.
The rally will be a follow up to the Nov. 4 rally, during which more than 100,000 people flocked downtown to demand the prosecution of Ahok on allegations of blasphemy. The rally started in a peaceful manner but ended in violence in the evening.
(Read also: Dec. 2 rally no cause for concerns)
Previously, the Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI) announced that its members would join the Dec. 2 rally to demand that the government scrap Government Regulation No. 78 of 2015 concerning wages and Ahok’s arrest.
KSPI chairman Said Iqbal argued that the Muslim groups and labor unions shared a common interest to promote the implementation of principles of justice and fairness, including in Ahok’s case. (hwa)
