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Flowers from Ahok supporters arrive at police headquarters
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Hundreds of flower boards pleading with the Indonesian Military and the National Police to uphold Pancasila and the Constitution are seen along the sidewalks in front of the National Police headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo in South Jakarta on Wednesday. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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upporters of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama have shifted the focus of their nascent movement, which they call the “flower revolution”, by sending flowers to the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta to support the police in taking firm action against intolerant and radical groups.
Some 200 flower arrangements started to appear on sidewalks in front of the police headquarters on Wednesday. On some of them were written “Support the President and police chief in upholding Pancasila and NKRI” and “Save NKRI, curb radicalism”, referring to the state ideology and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
"[The flower phenomenon] means Indonesians care about the current situation in the country," said National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Rikwanto on Wednesday.
The encouragement to send flowers to the police on May 3 went viral on social media.
The flowers at the headquarters also come ahead of another Muslim rally scheduled for May 5.
The rally is another protest against Ahok, a Christian and a Chinese-Indonesian.
Last week, City Hall received some 5,000 flower arrangements expressing support for Ahok, who will leave office in several months after conceding defeat to Anies Baswedan in the April 19 election. (dis)
