TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko recalled the chronology of when he was expelled by the mass of the Aksi Kamisan rally who rejected the Human Rights Festival held in Semarang City on Thursday, November 18.

Moeldoko initially attended the Human Rights Festival at the PO Hotel on Jalan Pahlawan Semarang. After being a speaker at the event, he was informed that a protest was being held before the hotel.

He then visited the mass accompanied by the Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Beka Ulung Hapsara and Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi. However, upon arrival, Moeldoko and the entourage were asked to leave by the protesters.

“I tried to talk to them, but they objected to it. For me, it was normal. I respect and appreciate what they said. So the entourage and I left the site,” said Moeldoko in video footage on Friday, November 19.

Moeldoko claimed he would like to emphasize that the government did not set aside human rights issues at all. “We don't close our eyes and ears, but rather we still care to solve problems,” he underlined.

Tempo observed at the location that the former Indonesian Military or TNI commander had held a microphone but did not have time to give a word. Every time he was about to speak, the protesters shouted, asking him to leave. “Just go home,” a protester shouted.

They then left the site of the Kamisan rally along with shouts from the protesters. “Disband Komnas HAM. Komnas HAM provides space for human rights violators,” said the crowd. As a result, Jalan Pemuda was temporarily closed.

The protest against the human rights festival was driven by a number of human rights violations that are still ongoing in Indonesia, including in Semarang. The mass highlighted the government's actions that were considered to violate human rights such as evictions, exploitation of natural resources, and land seizure.

Read: Presidential Staff Office: Govt Continues Efforts to Solve Human Rights Cases

DEWI NURITA | JAMAL A. NASHR