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PDI-P councillor lambasts authorities over hate banners
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A protester holds a banner with a picture depicting Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama behind bars during a rally in December. (AP/Dita Alangkara)
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Jakarta city councilor has criticized authorities and political parties for their late response to hate banners placed across the capital.
Gembong Warsono, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the banners had been around the city since the campaign period ahead of the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
"Where were you? The banners had been there all this time and you are just taking them down now. That is too late," Gembong said during a meeting with the Jakarta administration in relation to preparations for the second round of the election on Tuesday.
He also criticized fellow councilors for their silence over the messages on the banners that discredited incumbent candidate Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is a Christian of Chinese descent.
The messages have affected a family that claimed the authorities of a mosque in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, denied their request to hold prayers for their deceased mother on March 10. The deceased was found to have voted for Ahok in the Feb. 15 election.
The city administration removed 266 hate banners across the city on Tuesday.
