President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo arrived in Surakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday evening, a day after a suicide bomber hit the city’s police headquarters, Antara reported.
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo arrived in Surakarta in Central Java on Wednesday evening, a day after a suicide bomber hit the city’s police headquarters, Antara reported.
Jokowi will spend the Idul Fitri holiday in the city, where he was mayor for seven years, before holding an open house event in Yogyakarta on Saturday. The President is expected to return to Jakarta on Saturday night.
Jokowi has called on people to remain calm after Tuesday's attack and not to be afraid of terror.
Jokowi began his political career in Surakarta where he was mayor from 2005 to 2012. While widely known for its cultural heritage as an historic city, Surakarta is also known as a hotbed for extremist organizations inspired by Salafi-Jihadism.
The Ngruki Islamic school, which was co-founded by Indonesian jihadi ideologue Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, is located in Surakarta.
The National Police said they would boost security in Surakarta though they also said that the President was not a primary target of terrorists. (ary)
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