TEMPO.CO, Surakarta - Islamic group Surakarta Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) leader, Mohammad Sholeh Ibrahim, has admitted the beating incident of a Slanker (fan of rock band Slank) by JAT members who were conducting a long march in the car-free day area on Jl. Slame Riyadi, Surakarta, Central Java, yesterday.
Sholeh said his members had indeed assaulted him. "It was just spontaneous," he explained. He had told them not to use violence. "Before they left, I told them not to use violence and be more polite on the road."
The members were warning someone in the middle of a music show not to consume alcohol. "There were some drunkards and we warned them. But, he didn’t take it well and even resisted," Sholeh said.
The action had provoked some of JAT members. He refused to agree that his members forbade the show - held by Slankers. "We did not ask them to stop the music. Only reminded the drunkards to stop. Because it is a public space, and we’re obligated to remind them," he uttered.
The victim of beating, Khalihur Rohman, 22, denied the allegation that there were slankers drinking alcohol during the music show in the car-free day area. "We were just playing music to welcome the 2014 World Cup. There were no alcoholic beverages," said Rohman.
UKKY PRIMARTANTYO
