"To hold a rally (as part of) the effort to express opinion before the public must be respected but that (the demonstrators) must comply with the law in force," presidential special staff for communication Johan Budi said at the Presidential Palace here on Thursday.
He said the government respected the peoples wish to express their opinion in public place. However, they must maintain public order and refrain from taking anarchic act.
The Muslim Forum (FUI) and students plan to hold a rally in front of the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Friday.
Participants of the rally, who will come from a number of religious organizations, will march to the Merdeka Palace after performing Friday prayers at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta.
The planned rally will be held in response to a request from a group of Muslims who want non-active Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, to be discharged from his post after he had been named a suspect in an alleged religious blasphemy.
Asked to comment on the demonstrators demand for the discharge of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Johan said any citizen is entitled to supervise a series of the hearings in the religious blasphemy case trial.
"The public are requested to supervise the trial to ensure that it will run fairly," he said.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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