Jakarta – House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon has said he will not join a rally against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama on Friday.
"I will visit Panama on Friday. If I was here, I would attend the rally," the Gerindra Party politician said on Monday, as reported by kompas.com.
Fadli said he had been invited by the organizer, the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), to join the rally.
The demonstration is set to call on police to detain Ahok over a blasphemy case in which Ahok has been named a suspect. The governor is currently on leave from his gubernatorial duties as he is campaigning for reelection.
Fadli and another deputy House speaker, Fahri Hamzah from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), were among tens of thousands of people joining a rally on Nov. 4, which had also been led by the GNPF-MUI and ended in violence.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has accused "political actors" of being behind the rally. A few days after the rally, Gerindra chairman Prabowo Subianto met Jokowi at the Presidential Palace, expressing his support for the government.
On Monday, police gave the GNPF-MUI permission to conduct the rally on Friday at the National Monument (Monas) park, rather than along Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, as initially planned by the organizers. Up to 600,000 people are predicted to join the rally on Friday. (jun)