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LIVE REPORT: Anti-Ahok rally
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Security concerns: National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian (left) wipes his forehead as Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma’ruf Amin (center) and Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Rizieq Shihab look on during a press conference at the MUI’s offices in Jakarta on Monday. Police will reroute traffic around the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta during the planned prayer on Friday. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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n the third of a series of rallies aimed at pushing for the incarceration of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama over alleged blasphemy, some 500,000 people are expected to swarm the National Monument (Monas) square in Central Jakarta this Friday.
Spearheaded by Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq, the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) as the organizer of the rally will once again storm the city to demand the immediate arrest on Ahok.
The governor has been declared a suspect, and the case dossier has been declared complete by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), paving the way for the blasphemy case to go to trial.
After negotiations with the National Police, the GNPF-MUI agreed to limit the rally to the Monas area, with no street demonstrations. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called the event a mass prayer instead of a rally.
Still, the police are on high alert amid possible attempts by terrorist groups to infiltrate the rally. Nine people arrested over riots during the large-scale rally on Nov. 4 allegedly have links to the Islamic State (IS) group.
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Read the live reports on our official Twitter account with our hashtag #212Rally.
