Governor Of Jakarta Stays His Ground

By Azeman Ariffin JAKARTA, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- The man in the centre of the "storm" in Indonesia's Jakarta, incumbent governor of the Indonesian capital Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, more popularly known as Ahok, has come out to say that he will not entertain calls for him to quit. "If the country falls apart because of a person named Ahok, I am willing to be arrested and jailed but I am not willing to go to prison because of slander," he was quoted by local media as saying in response to the mammoth demonstration against him in Jakarta on Friday. He is defending his post in the country's gubernatorial elections in February 2017. Ahok said he was a victim of slander because the video recording of his speech in Pulau Seribu last month had been edited by certain people to make it look like he had insulted Islam. He added that he was a law abiding citizen and was innocent until proven guilty. "I will not drop out of the election, I would rather go to jail if I have broken the law," he said, adding he has and would continue to give his full cooperation to the investigating authorities. He also said that he would continue campaigning as usual but would not reveal his schedule in advance for security reasons. Following an uproar over the speech, Ahok, a Christian, had made an apology stating that he had not meant to hurt the feelings of Muslim and that his words had been misinterpreted. Tens of thousands Indonesians gathered in front of City Hall to protest against Ahok's alleged insult of Islam and demanded that he quit as governor of Jakarta. The demonstration started peacefully but ended on violence, leaving several people injured including members of the security forces. Security has also been stepped around his home in the wake of the anger against him by Muslims. Indonesian police chief Tito Karnavian at a press conference yesterday stated that an impartial and transparent investigation would be carried out into the claims that Ahok had blasphemed Islam. --BERNAMA