Tens of thousands of hard-line Muslims are marching against the Governor of Jakarta, demanding he is prosecuted for blasphemy. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, is the first ethnic Chinese to hold the governor’s post in the capital of majority Muslim Indonesia. Protesters earlier gathered at the Istiqlal Mosque and have now assembled outside the presidential palace.
Police are bracing for the possibility of religious and racial tensions. 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.
Chief of Jakarta police Insp Gen Mochamad Iriawan said female officers in hijabs would be deployed on the front line of the protest as a humanistic approach. About 20,000 security personnel have been deployed for the protest. Police said an estimated 50,000 people were taking part.