ICC Note:

Some radical Islamist social media sources are calling for violence and the death of Ahok as Indonesia prepares for the second round of protests against Jakarta’s first Chinese-Christian governor. Local contacts ICC reached out to have echoed fear that the protests could spark a repetition of the 1998 anti-Chinese riots which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Chinese. The Chinese in Indonesia are predominantly Christian. Many claim the Indonesian government is not doing enough ahead of the protests to suppress the hate filled rhetoric from hardline Muslim groups and instead has defended the right of free speech for Muslim radicals.

11/3/2016 Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his vice president called for peace as tensions rose on Thursday ahead of a protest planned by hardline Muslim groups against the Jakarta governor, a Christian and the first ethnic Chinese in the job.

The groups claim that Governor Basuki Tjahja Purnama, popularly known as “Ahok”, had insulted the Koran and was guilty of blasphemy. They plan a protest rally on Friday.

Security has been tightened in Jakarta, a sprawling city of 10 million, and police have deployed armoured vehicles and armed personnel as the plan stoked religious and ethnic tensions in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.

“Everything and everyone should continue to work as normal, schools should run as normal,” Widodo said in a joint statement with Vice President Jusuf Kalla

Kalla added: “The government will listen to all opinions…but I believe because the protest will be carried out on Friday, a holy day, protesters will be respectful. That is our hope.”

But some businesses have told employees to stay home on Friday, citing fears that violence could erupt during the rally.

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