Thousands of police and military personnel are being prepared to confront any possible outbreak of violence when a fresh demonstration, set to involve thousands of Islamic hard-liners from outside Jakarta, hits the streets of the capital on Friday.

Jakarta is on high alert after information began to circle online and offline suggesting that extremists from all over the country would flock to the city and demand that authorities prosecute Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for alleged blasphemy.

Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Brig. Gen. Wuryanto has confirmed that the TNI plans to deploy around 500 personnel including those from elite branches, such as the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) and Air Force Special Forces (Paskas), to back up around 7,000 officers deployed by the Jakarta Police.

The personnel will also be tasked at providing security assistance in vital areas such as airports, bus terminals and government offices.

Wuryanto said the TNI had learned that the upcoming Nov. 4 mass protest by Islamic organizations could escalate into violence and therefore the military had responded to the police’s call for backup.

“Yes, the tension is high because everybody knows about Nov. 4. The military has encouraged Islamic organizations not to send members to Jakarta. We hope they will listen to our advice,” Wuryanto told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian acknowledged that the police had been coordinating with the TNI after the National Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) issued its highest security level, known as “Siaga 1”.

Many may see these developments as indicative of a high-level security threat in the capital as it is not common to see the TNI being deployed to help deal with civilian demonstrations.

In response to the status, roughly 1,000 Brimob personnel from regional police commands have been dispatched to the capital and put on standby, National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said on Sunday.

“We have deployed personnel from outside Jakarta to assist the Jakarta Police in providing proper services to the public, particularly when the demonstration takes places,” Agus told the Post.

“It is predicted that it will be a large demonstration,” he added.

The Nov. 4 rally will be the second sizable demonstration against the governor following one on Oct. 10. The protesters, who are mostly Islamic hard-liners, have demanded that the police charge Ahok, who is currently on leave for the Jakarta gubernatorial election campaign, with religious blasphemy after some felt the governor had insulted Islam when Ahok cited a verse from the Quran.

Ahok has apologized for the statement, but for the hard-liners this is not enough.

Also on Sunday, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono clarified that no “shoot-on-sight” order had been issued with regard to the rally.

“Don’t provoke and make the situation more heated,” Awi said, adding that police officers were not allowed to carry firearms when securing rallies.

Tito has called on the public not to be easily provoked by the distribution of false information on the internet, especially information suggesting that the rally would descend into chaos.

The police have yet to ascertain the full scale of the protest. However, many hard-line Islamic organizations have called on Muslims to take part.

Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Habib Rizieq Shihab, for example, has called on all Muslims to take part in the rally on his official website www.habibrizieq.com.

Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has said it will encourage its members to refrain from taking part in the demonstration and will prohibit the use of NU symbols at the rally.

NU suspects that the demonstration carries a “hidden” aim that is “bigger than demanding criminal proceedings against Ahok.”

“I am afraid that [the rally] is propelled by a third party whose issues are bigger than just the [Jakarta] election,” said NU central board chairman Said Aqil Siradj on Saturday.

Tension continues to rise ahead of the highly-anticipated Jakarta gubernatorial race. Incumbent Ahok and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat will compete against two other candidate pairs, namely Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni and Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno.

Anies and Sandiaga have said they will not take part in the Nov. 4 demonstration. “We are concentrating on winning the gubernatorial race. We won’t be taking part in activities that are not related to the election,” Anies said.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Agnes Anya and Haeril Halim

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