By: Rahmat Kartolo) *
212 reunion was held again, the event seemed to be a magnet for some people to flock to whiten monas. But there is something that is quite a special concern, namely the involvement of minors in the event, even though they should be at school to play and learn with their friends, not take to the streets with their parents. 212 reunion participants have started visiting the Monas area since 19.00 WIB the day before the reunion or on December 1, 2019.
Not a few reunion participants were found to bring children to toddlers in the 212th grand reunion event this year. In fact, the reunion was conducted starting from early morning and the weather conditions in Jakarta had just rained. One hijab woman stated that she deliberately came to Monas with her husband and 3 year old child, the toddler named Rehan.
Rehan’s parents’ group arrived at Monas at 21:45 WIB. By pushing the pram, the veiled woman arrived with a number of her entourage dominated by women. In the group, another child was also seen being carried by his parents who participated in the 212 Reunion.
They came and went straight to the front of the main stage and held a plastic mat for the prayer mat for their group. Some of them immediately waved a black flag bearing the phrase monotheism as a sign for other groups who had not yet joined him. Even this reunion still brought up the issue that was ‘obsolete’, one of the orators at the reunion revealed that Indonesia was considered to have allowed the ulemas or religious offenders. As in the former convicts of blasphemy against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok.
Even though we all know that Ahok has been legally processed, he is also not absent in the trial procession, but as if their revenge against the figure of Ahok has firmly rooted, it is not impossible to invite young children in the reunion, it will further increase the sense of intolerance towards the people minority. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has already given an appeal that the 212 Reunion activities will not be held again this year.
Chairperson of the MUI Community Preaching and Development Commission, Cholil Nafis, said the 212 reunion did not need to be held because Ahok had completed his legal process. He instead suggested that the Reunion 212 activity be replaced with a celebration of the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad SAW to motivate people to love the Rasul more.
Of course the children who are still under age do not understand and comprehend the demands of the demo participants. That is because many of the children are only invited to be invited by friends or their own parents.
Even though the big demonstration that succeeded in overthrowing Suharto in 1998 alone there was no reunion or alumni association because the aim of overthrowing Suharto, who had been in power for 32 years, had been achieved. Of course the purpose of this 212 reunion is still questionable, is it purely da’wah or is there a political element?
But is it ethical if children are in situations that may contain elements of violence and are life-threatening, because the reunion is held in an open place and in a sea of masses. In addition, cases of children separated from their parents also occurred at the event. The parents and their child were only found again at the Tugu Tani Police Station.
KPAI has also conducted monitoring, where it found that many children felt exhausted when participating in the action which took place from early morning until it broke up during the day. The look on the face of fatigue was clearly seen in the children. They were even forced to sit on the side of the road mixed with cars and buses that were being parked.
Even though Article 24 of Law Number 35 Year 2015 concerning child protection states; The State, the Government and Regional Governments guarantee children to exercise their rights in expressing their opinions according to their age and intelligence level.
Of course we must also understand the context of the law, where children and students in expressing opinions must be facilitated and be in a safe and comfortable space, so that the opinions and views of these children can be heard and respected by adults.
) * The author is a social political observer
