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Protesters gather in Central Jakarta
The Jakarta Police said a mass of people started gathering at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta at 9 a
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he Jakarta Police said a mass of people started gathering at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta at 9 a.m. on Thursday ahead of the Constitutional Court's ruling in the presidential election result dispute.
The Jakarta Police, through its Twitter account, @TMCPoldaMetro, said 'At 9 a.m. around 50 people were protesting at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.'
Road access to the court was closed last night in case riots erupted in relation to the ruling, kompas.com reported.
The National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) have deployed a joint team of approximately 50,000 personnel to deal with possible rioting.
National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said on Wednesday that the majority of the security personnel would be dispatched to secure the court on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta, the State Palace and adjacent business and trading districts, including the Tanah Abang textile market.
The police will also closely monitor 14 spots connecting Jakarta with Banten and West Java to prevent out-of-town protesters from entering the capital.
'We have implemented the Alert Level 1 status, meaning that we are readying two-thirds of our personnel to safeguard the ruling. With this, we hope the public will remain calm and go about their usual daily activities,' Sutarman said Wednesday at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.
Demonstrators, however, would only be able to reach the third ring ' areas around the Arjuna Wiwaha statue, US Embassy, Pertamina and Harmoni.
The first ring is the meeting room, while the second ring is the court's building. (put)
