TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Legal expert from Trisakti University Abdul Fickar Hadjar said that the act of violence shown by several members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) during the so-called peaceful protest at Tempo headquarters can be considered as a criminal act.
He sees that one of the protesters had committed a general offense when one protester snatched the pair of glasses worn by Tempo Magazine Chief Editor Arif Zulkifli.
Read also: Tempo Caricature: AJI Denounces Rally by FPI at Tempo Office
“The incident must be reported by the witnesses who saw it, listened, and [the witness] who experienced it himself,” said Fickar on Sunday, March 18.
Abdul Fickar acknowledges that a citizen has the right to stage a protest which is part of democracy, which FPI members had every right to. However, there are corridors that must not be violated even when they are staging a rally.
Around 200 FPI members protested against a satirical caricature that that was published by Tempo that featured a person wearing a white robe with his face facing the other way. Members of the FPI demanded Tempo issue an apology for publishing a cartoon that FPI members think discredits and is insulting their leader Rizieq Shihab.
Protesters even went as far to say that the satire is not only insulting Ulemas but also to every Muslim community the organization represents.
Previously, The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) regrets that the protest held by FPI seemed more like an act of vigilantism and persecution.
“FPI should have respected the law and put forward on holding a mutually respectful dialogue,” said Kontras national coordinator Yati Andriyani, on Saturday, March 17.
IRSYAN HASYIM
