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Medan Muslims stage mass rally for Rohingya
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Showing solidarity: Thousands of supporters of Islamic organizations stage a rally in front of the Borobudur Temple vihara (Buddhist monastery) in Medan, North Sumatra, on Sept. 8 to call for an end to violence against the Rohingya people. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
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housands of Muslims from various organizations, joining hands with the Care for Rohingya Action (APRO) group, staged a rally in front of the Borobudur Temple vihara (Buddhist monastery) on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Medan, North Sumatra, on Friday to protest the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
The rally began after Friday prayers at the Medan Grand Mosque, where participants began their march to the vihara.
Initiated by the North Sumatra chapter of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), the rally ran peacefully under tight security of more than 1,000 Indonesian Military and National Police personnel.
Rafdinal of Indonesia’s second largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah said the rally to the Borobudur vihara aimed to call on Buddhist monks in the nunnery to help convey the wishes of the country's Muslim people, who hoped for Buddhist leaders in Myanmar to take action to end violence against the Rohingya people.
“We are calling on all Buddhist monks at this vihara to immediately convey our stance to their colleague monks in Myanmar that they need to stop the violence against the Rohingya Muslims,” said Rafdinal.
Medan Police operation division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Donny S. Sembiring said the solidarity rally for the Rohingya in Medan ran smoothly and peacefully. “We readied 1,700 police personnel to secure the rally.” (ebf)
