Islamists march in Jakarta ahead of polls
JAKARTA: Around 100,000 people marched in Indonesia’s capital yesterday to mark two years since a demonstration that led to the fall of the city’s Christian exgovernor, as presidential candidates seek to rally support ahead of next year’s general election.
Former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was voted out of office and jailed for two years for blasphemy following the 2016 protests, in a case seen as an example of rising religious intolerance in the country.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, has seen its reputation for pluralism eroded by a surge in attacks on minorities.
Analysts said identity politics and rising intolerance were likely to feature prominently — along with the economy — in campaigning for April’s polls.
Yesterday, about 100,000 people joined the rally, with 23,000 officers securing the event, police spokesman Argo Yuwono said.
The demonstrators, many dressed in white and carrying Islamic flags, gathered at the National Monument, where former general and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto spoke.
Subianto supported the rally that led to Purnama’s ouster 2016, and analysts said the rally might have been politically motivated to boost his chance of winning the presidential elections.
He will face President Joko Widodo, who has chosen ulama Ma’ruf Amin as his vice-presidential candidate, a move analysts said would bolster the president’s Islamic credentials.
Widodo also supported the 2016 rally, known as “212 demonstration” after the date when it was held — Dec 2.