Indra Budiari, Jakarta – The Association of Muslim Students (HMI), the nation's largest student organization, is under fire after five of its members were charged with instigating a riot in front of the State Palace during a massive rally by Muslim groups against the Jakarta governor on Friday.
The Jakarta Police apprehended the five HMI members in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The arrests strengthen earlier media reports claiming that it was members of the student organization, and not the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI), who were allegedly responsible for Friday's clash between security officers and protesters.
One protester was killed and several police officers were injured in the clash.
The police identified two of the five arrested students as HMI secretary-general Ami Jaya and Ismail Ibrahim, who was allegedly caught on camera attacking a police officer during the rally. The other three have been identified only by their initials: RR, MRD and RM.
"They assaulted our officers in the field with various weapons, such as sharpened bamboo sticks and rocks," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono said Tuesday, adding that video footage and photos had been obtained to support the criminal charges against them.
The suspects have been charged under articles 214 and 212 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on attacking police officers, which carry maximum punishment of seven years in prison.
On Friday, more than 100,000 took to the streets of Jakarta to demand that the police prosecute Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for allegedly insulting the Quran.
The rally, one of the largest the nation has ever seen, ended in violence as protesters ignored a police order to disperse at 6 p.m.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has accused "political actors" of exploiting the rally and instigating a riot after the rally, which was supposed to end peacefully at 6 p.m. Jokowi did not name names, creating tension among his allies in the ruling coalition and politicians in the opposition camp.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said the police would look into the possibility that the disgraced university students had been instructed by the said "political actors" to create mayhem during Friday's rally.
"There was no violence until the masses from the right of the Presidential Palace started it," he told reporters last week.
Previously, the police charged 13 people with instigating a riot in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, which was initially alleged to be related to the rally in Central Jakarta as it took place on the same day.
The HMI is an influential student organization that has produced top public intellectuals and political leaders in the country. Former members of HMI include Nurcholis "Cak Nur" Madjid and Ahmad Wahib, two of the most influential Indonesian Muslim thinkers who initiated the liberal Islam movement in the country.
HMI chairman Mulyadi Tamsir, who called on HMI members to take part in the rally against Ahok, said the organization would provide legal assistance to its members. He added that he would report the arrests to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), saying they were excessive.
The student organization reiterated its claim that it had nothing to do with the violence during the rally, saying the incident was initiated by unidentified provocateurs.
Mulyadi demanded that Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Muhammad Irawan issue a public apology for accusing the organization of instigating the riot.