212 Reunion Action: Was Appreciated Because There Was A Cancellation Issue But A Criminal Diultimatum If It Runs

Head of Public Relations of Polda Metro Jaya Kombes Pol Endra Zulpan. (Photo: Fianda Sjofjan Rassat/Antara)

JAKARTA - The 212 Reunion action plan is in the spotlight. Having received appreciation, this event also received an ultimatum for punishment by the police.

The police gave appreciation to the Reunion 212 action committee because they had given up on holding an activity at the Arjuna Wiwaha Horse Statue, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, December 2.

At that time, they preferred to carry out activities at the Az Zikra Mosque, Sentul, West Java. In fact, there are plans for the reunion to be held virtually.

"We appreciate and respect the decision of the 212 management who stated that they would not operate within the jurisdiction of the Polda Metro Jaya," said Head of Public Relations of the Polda Metro Jaya Kombes E. Zulpan to reporters, Tuesday, November 30.

This appreciation was given because the 212 reunion committee thought about the potential for COVID-19 transmission. Moreover, avoiding the entry of new variants of COVID-19.

"We prioritize public safety and these are police measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by minimizing the occurrence of crowds or large groups of people," said Zulpan.

Apart from that, Zulpan said the 212 reunion was canceled because it did not receive a recommendation from the COVID-19 Task Force. Especially, directives from the government to keep crowds at bay.

"The recommendations of the Jakarta COVID-19 Task Force do not provide recommendations for activities that are gathering crowds of people. So this is in line with government instructions so that we can initially avoid crowds related to the COVID-19 pandemic situation," said Zulpan.

However, not long after the police expressed their appreciation, the committee changed the scheme of the activity.

The 212 Reunion Committee decided to carry out its activities in two locations, namely, the Arjuna Wiwaha Horse Statue, Central Jakarta and the Az Zikra Mosque, Sentul, West Java.

The 212 reunion which will take place at the Horse Statue will start from 08.00 WIB to 11.00 WIB. There, the speeches will be filled later.

Then, activities at the Az Zikra Mosque will start at 13.00 WIB. Later it will be filled with dhikr together.

This also makes the police seem furious. The Polda Metro Jaya has also issued an ultimatum to criminalize those who continue to insist on attending and holding the 212 reunion. The reason is that the activity was not licensed.

"If you are forced to carry out activities (reunion 212), then, we will apply the applicable legal provisions.

Zulpan said, parties who still choose to hold or be involved in the reunion will be charged with multiple articles. Among them are Articles 212 to 218 and the Health Quarantine Act.

"If we insist, we will suspect criminal acts 212 and 218 of the Criminal Code, which do not take this into account," said Zulpan.

"We use the Health Quarantine Law, namely Law Number 6 of 2018 which states that everyone is obliged to comply with the implementation of health quarantine," he continued.

On the other hand, Zulpan said that the reason for not allowing the activity was because the event invited a crowd. Moreover, the activity did not receive a recommendation from the COVID-19 Task Force.

"Polda Metro Jaya will not give permission to activities that create crowds, namely for the sake of something that goes against the rules of the health procedure or activities related to COVID-19," Zulpan said.