There Must Be Provocateurs In The Riots That Support Rizieq Shihab, The Authorities Must Investigate

Combined personnel from elements of the TNI-Polri stand guard at the Pondok Kopi "flyover" to prevent a mass of Rizieq Shihab sympathizers from going to the East Jakarta District Court, / Antara

JAKARTA - Rizieq Shihab's supporters and sympathizers packed the location around the East Jakarta District Court during the reading of Rizieq's verdict. The crowd even clashed with the police.

Seeing this case, a social psychologist from Gajah Mada University, Koentjoro, views the behavior of Rizieq's sympathizers as an act of madness. They did not accept that Rizieq was punished. From the emotions of the supporters, Koentjoro saw that there were people who used him to cause chaos.

"This can be said as a behavior that is mad and defeated. It's behavior that doesn't make sense but it's done. If their character gets a punishment that is not light, it makes them disappointed. Obviously, this is a provocation. They are heated up, their emotions are burned, and finally ignited", said Koentjoro to VOI, Thursday, June 24.

Similarly, a psychologist, Kasandra Putranto, also views that this kind of movement is often driven by individuals who really want to trigger chaos. The form of encouragement can be in the form of shouts and invitations to do destructive behavior.

"Individuals in society have the potential to develop absolute power because of shared responsibility and shared power so that they feel more courageous, plus there are provocations in the form of shouts and encouragement to be destructive", said Kasandra when contacted separately.

Kasandra views that there must be anticipation of the potential risk of chaos when there is a mass movement, which has the potential for provoking individuals.

This must be done by the police. Kasandra said that the authorities must investigate the cause of the riots and find the person who encouraged the clashes.

"There must be an investigation or investigation that is accompanied by evidence to be able to prove the cause of the riot, and the psychodynamics of how the riot developed and occurred", she said.

On the other hand, Rizieq Shihab should also play a role in reducing the emergence of crowds of his followers. This is because the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.

"The figure should also have the awareness to maintain the safety of his followers and the security of the country", she concluded.

Previously reported, Rizieq Shihab was sentenced to four years in prison for the case of the UMMI hospital swab results. Rizieq violated Article 14 Paragraph (1), which is subsidiary to Article 14 Paragraph (2), which is more subsidiary to Article 15 of Law Number 1 of 1946 concerning the Criminal Law Regulations in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code.

Rizieq Shihab's supporters who gathered in front of the East Jakarta District Court were involved in a riot because they were not allowed to enter the court area.

The police said the clashes between Rizieq Shihab's supporters and officers were triggered by a dispute. Because the crowd had thrown the officers' vehicle into the river.

"Actually, there was a member's vehicle that was put into the river by the protesters, causing a bit of chaos", said the East Jakarta Metro Police Chief, Kombes Erwin Kurniawan.