One of our hopes for reconciliation is that there should be no one feeling oppressed
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Prabowo Subianto-founded Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party has asked for those arrested during the 2019 presidential election process to be released and the return of Rizieq Shihab to Jakarta as pre-conditions for reconciliation.

"One of our hopes for reconciliation is that there should be no one feeling oppressed," Andre Rosiade, spokesman of Gerindra said here Wednesday.

The reconciliation process must leave no one behind, particularly those who feel they are being oppressed, he said, referring to those who were detained during the electoral process.

Gerindra wants to see this nation unite and living in harmony again, so there should no longer be burdened by the issues that occurred during the electoral excesses.

"If we want to be on good terms and friendly, every existing case and burden must be dealt with," he said.

The objective of being friendly again is to solve the existing problems, including that with regard to Rizieq Shihab, a prominent religious figure and ulema (Islamic scholar) who was frequently summoned by the police, he remarked.

There is an X factor hampering Shihab from returning to Indonesia, he said, without giving further details.

"There is an X factor preventing Shihab from going home. The X factor could only be resolved by the government," he said.

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Shihab had been involved in several cases after leading a series of actions in 2016. He left Indonesia for Saudi Arabia in April 2017 to perform Umrah (minor hajj) with his family and never returned to Jakarta.

On May 2017, police named him as a suspect in a pornography case following a series of sexually explicit WhatsApp chats allegedly exchanged between him and a woman which went viral. In June 2018, the police closed the investigations because the uploader of the video could not be found.

Meanwhile, following the announcement of the election results, many parties have called for a reconciliation between Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and the contender Prabowo Subianto, to restore the national harmony as the 2019 presidential election had showcased a nation divided.

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Translator: Imam Budilaksono, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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