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  • Thousands Gather For Protest Against Jakarta Governor

    Thousands Gather For Protest Against Jakarta Governor

    Thousands of white-clad Muslims streamed towards a central Jakarta park on Friday, gathering for a rally expected to draw more than 100,000 Indonesians demanding the arrest of the capital’s governor, a Christian accused of insulting the Koran.

    National news agency Antara said 22,000 police personnel would be deployed to avoid a repeat of the violence that flared at the end of a protest led by hardline Islamists last month when more than 100 people were injured in clashes with police.

    Muslim groups accuse Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – nicknamed “Ahok” – of insulting the Koran, though they have pledged that Friday’s demonstration will be peaceful.

    Protesters began moving from the hulking Istiqlal mosque towards the National Monument in the centre of the city at around 5am, after morning prayers.

     

    “We are expecting more than 100,000 participants,” Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said late on Thursday. “There is enough security so the public need not worry. We hope everything will proceed according to the agreement with the protesters.”

    Indonesia has the world’s biggest Muslim population but recognises six religions and is home to dozens of ethnic groups, some of which follow traditional beliefs.

    Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, is being investigated over comments he made about his opponents’ use of the Koran in political campaigning. He denies wrongdoing but has apologised for the remarks.

    Police on Thursday handed over their investigation dossier to prosecutors, who are expected to take the case of alleged blasphemy to court in coming weeks.

    Simmering religious and ethnic tension last month prompted President Joko Widodo to rally top military, political, and religious figures in a sign of unity amid fears of attempts to undermine the stability of his government.

    Police helicopters last week dropped leaflets over the capital warning residents of harsh penalties if the upcoming rally turned violent.

    Tens of thousands participated in military-led rallies in several cities this week calling for unity and celebrating Indonesia’s diversity.

    The Jakarta government has also put up billboards on major roads calling for national unity and displaying pictures of independence heroes who fought against colonial rule.

    The Australian foreign ministry and the US embassy in Jakarta issued security notices urging nationals to avoid the demonstration.

    Purnama is running for re-election in February against two Muslim candidates. The governor, who is popular with many for pushing through tough reforms to clean up the teeming city, has slipped into second place in the race, opinion polls showed this week.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia

  • Jakarta Anti-Governor Protest: Cars Burnt, 1 Dead And Many Injured

    Jakarta Anti-Governor Protest: Cars Burnt, 1 Dead And Many Injured

    Indonesian police have used tear gas and water cannon to subdue protesters as thousands of hard-line Muslims marched against Jakarta’s governor.

    Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, is the first ethnic Chinese to hold the governor’s post in the capital of majority Muslim Indonesia.

    The demonstrators accuse him of having insulted Islam’s holy book, the Koran, and want him to be prosecuted.

    Clashes broke out between police and protesters who refused to disperse.

    One elderly man died, the Associated Press reports, citing police. Several other people, including police officers, have been injured.

    Protesters had earlier marched upon the presidential palace.

    Police had been braced for the possibility of religious and racial tensions erupting at the rally, which an estimated 50,000 people attended.

    It had mostly been peaceful but groups of angry demonstrators clashed with police after nightfall and set vehicles alight.

    In 1998, a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment led to mobs looting and burning Chinese-owned shops and houses. Ethnic Chinese make up about 1% of Indonesia’s population of 250 million people.

    Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, speaks to journalists at his office in Jakarta in 2014
    Protesters are sprayed with water from a police water cannon truck during a clash outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016

    The protest was held to demand that Mr Purnama be prosecuted for blasphemy over comments he made in September that were seen as criticising a Koranic verse.

    He said that Islamic groups using a passage of the Koran to urge people not to support him were deceiving voters, who will go to the polls in February.

    The verse is interpreted by some as prohibiting Muslims from living under the leadership of a non-Muslim.

    Mr Purnama has since apologised but formal complaints were lodged against him by Islamic groups for defamation. He is now being investigated by police.

    Who is Governor Ahok?

    Some protesters at Friday’s rally carried signs calling for the governor’s death, the BBC’s Rebecca Henschke in Jakarta says.

    Representatives met with Vice-President Yusuf Kalla, who promised that the investigation into Mr Purnama would be completed within two weeks.

    Indonesian policewomen stand guard as Muslims march towards the presidential palace during a protest against Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama also known as Ahok over an alleged blasphemy in Jakarta on November 4, 2016

    There have long been tensions around Mr Purnama political role.

    In 2014, he was the deputy governor under Joko Widodo. When Mr Widodo was elected president the main group behind the current protest – Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) – did not want Mr Purnama to succeed him.

    They argued that a Christian should not govern a Muslim-majority city. The campaign against him has since taken on anti-Chinese overtones, though the FPI said the rally was not about the governor being from a minority group.

    Jakarta police said there were “provocative statements and images” on social media urging people to take violent action against Mr Purnama, including calls to kill him.

    Despite being seen as brash and outspoken, the governor is popular among many in the capital and has been praised for his effectiveness.

    Muslims in Indonesia are largely moderate and the country’s largest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, had advised its 40 million members not to take part in the protest.

     

    Source: www.bbc.com

  • Indonesia Activists Apologise For Planning Demonstration At Singapore Embassy

    Indonesia Activists Apologise For Planning Demonstration At Singapore Embassy

    The group supporting Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama on Sunday (Jun 5) apologised for planning to stage a demonstration in front of the Singapore embassy in Jakarta.

    Singgih Widiyastono, one of the founders of Teman Ahok, or “Friends of Ahok”, said he regretted that the group reacted in a provocative manner when two of its members, Amalia Ayuningtyas and Richard Saerang, were questioned by Singapore officials on Saturday.

    “We issued a statement saying that we will deploy a mass movement. We were just being emotional because (Amalia and Richard) were supposed to return home at 10pm, but they didn’t,” said Mr Singgih during a news conference held at the Friends of Ahok secretariat in Jakarta on Sunday (Jun 5).

    Teman Ahok is a volunteer-run group campaigning for Mr Basuki’s attempt to contest as an independent candidate in Jakarta’s gubernatorial election next year.

    On Saturday, the group said that if Amalia and Richard were not released immediately, it would go to the Singapore embassy in Jakarta with its “entire strength that the Friends of Ahok possesses.”

    Their threat went viral on social media. Numerous social media posts in Indonesia had alleged that the two Indonesian activists were detained at Changi Airport.

    The Singapore Embassy in Jakarta on Sunday denied claims that they were detained, saying the pair were denied entry into Singapore as they were intending to carry out political activities in the city-state.

    “Two members of ‘Teman Ahok’ were not detained while they were in Singapore,” said the statement issued by the embassy. “They arrived in Singapore on Jun 4, 2016, and were interviewed by Singapore officials.

    “They informed immigration authorities that they were in Singapore to conduct political activities including raising campaign funds. They were therefore denied entry into Singapore and arrangements were made for them to return to Indonesia,” it said.

    The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore also issued a statement saying that the pair were “not detained” in Singapore, and reiterated that “Singapore law forbids political activities from being conducted in Singapore, and this law should be respected”.

    The statement added: “The embassy had been in communication with Singapore authorities to facilitate their return to Jakarta on Jun 4, 2016. However, because of technical difficulties in the field, the two activists could not return on the last Garuda flight departing Singapore and would depart on the first Garuda flight out of Singapore on Jun 5, 2016, instead.

    “Singapore immigration authorities had provided accommodation and sufficient services to the two activists,” the statement said.

    The two Indonesians arrived back in Jakarta at 11am on Sunday.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Basuki Tjahaja Purnama: Orang Cina Pertama Menjadi Gabenor Jakarta

    Basuki Tjahaja Purnama: Orang Cina Pertama Menjadi Gabenor Jakarta

    Ahli politik lantang Indonesia, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama hari ini mengangkat sumpah sebagai gabenor Jakarta, sekali gus menjadikannya orang Cina pertama memegang jawatan itu.

    Beliau yang sebelum ini memegang jawatan timbalan gabenor dilantik sebagai gabenor selepas presiden Indonesia, Joko Widodo atau Jokowi (kanan) menang pilihan raya Julai lalu.

    Kumpulan garis keras Front Pembela Islam (FPI) menolak pelantikan Basuki kerana didakwa tidak ‘mesra’ terhadap orang Islam di republik itu melalui beberapa perhimpunan jalanan.

    Basuki, yang terkenal dengan sikap lantang dan suka berdebat meminta kerajaan membubarkan kumpulan itu dengan mengaitkannya dengan unsur anarki dan keganasan.

    Basuki atau lebih dikenali sebagai Ahok pada bulan ini bagaimanapun meminta maaf kepada umat Islam jika kenyataannya itu menyinggung perasaan.

    “Saya mohon maaf jika kamu fikir saya kurang ajar,” beliau dipetik sebagai berkata ketika perhimpunan Majlis Ulama Indonesia Indonesia.

    Beliau merupakan penganut Kristian kedua dilantik sebagai gabenor Jakarta.

    Semasa pemerintahan 32 tahun Suharto (kiri), bangsa Cina menjadi mangsa diskriminasi sosial dan politik.

    Dominasi kaum Cina dalam ekonomi sering mencetuskan kemarahan di kalangan segelintir rakyat Indonesia dan menjadikan mereka terdedah kepada serangan semasa pergolakan sosial.

    Pengganti Suharto, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie membubarkan undang-undang diskriminasi terhadap kaum Cina.

    Selain itu, mantan presiden Indonesia Abdurrahman Wahid selepas itu mengisytiharkan Tahun Baru Cina sebagai hari cuti kebangsaan pada tahun 2002.

    – dpa

     

    Source: www.malaysiakini.com