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Unarmed personnel, police in hijab to calm anti-Ahok crowd
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A woman's work: A group of female police officers wearing hijab stand by at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta on Friday. (JP/Callistasia Anggun Wijaya )
T
housands of law enforcement personnel gathered on Friday morning at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta for a final briefing, a few hours ahead of the start of a large-scale rally in the capital.
Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan said 21,000 personnel from the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) had been deployed to protect various venues across the city, including government offices and shopping malls, in anticipation of the rally, organized by multiple Islamic organizations to demand the criminal prosecution of gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Thahaja Purnama on allegations of blasphemy.
Iriawan said he had met with the rally coordinators, including Rizieq Shihab, leader of the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI).
"They promised that they would start [the rally] from Istiqlal Mosque and deliver orations in front of the State Palace [in Central Jakarta],” Iriawan said, referring to the country’s biggest mosque.
“Some of them [rally leaders] will hand over a joint petition to the palace and leave afterward. I ask them to fulfill their promise.”
(Read also: Q&A: Is Indonesia at stake in Nov. 4 anti-Ahok rally?)
He also said on-duty police personnel would not be allowed to bring firearms or bayonets. Five groups of police personnel have also been prepared to chant the Asmaul Husna [the 99 names of God] to calm the crowd should they become violent.
Separately, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono said hundreds of female officers wearing hijab would also stand guard in front of the palace in hopes of calming protesters. (hwa)
