TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In a pre-recorded video shown at the 212 reunion rally, Rizieq Shihab called for rally participants to fight in unity and reminded audiences of how past rallies managed to dethrone former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.

The series of rallies he refers to were the ones held from 2016 to 2017; “Remember how Ahok, the blasphemous person, was dethroned. Thanks to? Thanks to God’s help, driven by the country’s Muslim community’s sincerity and togetherness in fighting against a despotic regime,” Rizieq Shihab claims.

Rizieq went as far as to accuse that Ahok had been protected by a number of people with power and mentioned the people he claims have protected Ahok.

“We all knew that Ahok the blasphemous was protected by the president, the Indonesian police chief, the Armed Forces commander, KPU and KPK, backed by major political parties, and campaigned by the entire national media, together with a number of pollsters funded by the ‘nine red dragons’,” Rizieq claimed.

Former governor-turned Pertamina Commissioner Ahok at the time was incriminated in a blasphemy case in 2016 after a statement he gave in his work visit at Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands) caused people to accuse of him of blasphemy against Islam, which initially got him a prison sentence he served for more than a year.

2016 saw the birth of the 212 rallies which was initially a public rally demanding the former governor to step down from his position as Jakarta Governor.

M YUSUF MANURUNG