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Indonesians in US confirmed safe as George Floyd protests continue nationwide
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People carry items next to a damaged shop during nationwide protests over the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Long Beach California, the United States, on May 31, 2020. (REUTERS/Patrick Fallon)
T
he Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago has said that about 1,900 Indonesian nationals living in several states affected by the George Floyd protests in the American Midwest are safe.
The protests, which erupted last Tuesday, have spread across the United States.
The consulate general further reported that, to maintain security, at least 25 cities had imposed curfews and National Guard personnel been activated in at least 16 states as of Monday.
"Indonesians living in protest-affected states are in good and safe condition," the consulate general said in a statement on Monday, adding that it was maintaining communication with the Indonesian citizens to ensure their safety.
"Those who need help can contact our 24-hour hotline at +1(312)347-9114," it added.
Read also: US anti-racism protests stretch to distant New Zealand
Of the Indonesian nationals residing in the Midwest, 864 were in Chicago, 334 in Detroit, 272 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, 277 in Columbus, 81 in Cincinnati, 68 in Cleveland, 31 in Toledo, 27 in Dayton and 36 in Des Moines.
Sympathy protests over the death of Floyd, the black man who was unarmed when he was killed at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, were held across the nation shortly after the fatality.
Initially peaceful rallies eventually developed into nights of unrest with reports of shootings, looting and vandalism in several cities.
Reuters reported that Hennepin County prosecutors had charged Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed Floyd, with murder, yet the arrest did not succeed in lowering tensions.
Protesters have been demanding systemic changes, crying support for the Black Lives Matter movement in response to decades of killings of African-Americans by the police.
