ICC Note:

Could Indonesia’s foreign president, Yudhoyono, be encouraging the Muslim protests against Jakarta’s Chinese-Christian governor, Ahok? His son is running against the governor in the upcoming election. When asked if he supported the protests his son replied: “300%.” Then there is the fact that Yudhoyono endorsed fatwas against minorities during his administration and allowed to radical Islamic groups to operate with impunity despite their links to violence against religious minorities and the burning of churches. Is it any coincidence, then, that cases of religious violence are on the rise in Indonesia? Under the current president, who at least goes so far as to discourage violence against minorities, religious violence continues to rise on an annual basis with a thirty-three percent increase in cases of religious violence reported from 2014 to 2015 alone.

11/8/2016 Indonesia (Wall Street Journal) – A violent protest against Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama on Friday is the latest sign of rising religious intolerance in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. The Islam Defenders Front and other Islamist groups rallied 200,000 followers in the capital to demand the Christian and ethnically Chinese Mr. Purnama be imprisoned for blasphemy. That’s a show of strength that will only grow if Indonesia’s political and religious leaders don’t stand up to it.

Islamists misquoted a September speech in which Mr. Purnama cited the Quran and started a social-media campaign against him. He has since apologized, and a police investigation is expected to clear him. But the accusation led to Friday’s rally, at which participants openly incited violence against the Governor. Some protesters burned cars and looted shops.

Mr. Purnama, who has been the target of assassination plots in the past, is running for re-election in February. His chances are good since he remains popular with Jakarta’s population, especially the middle class. Originally Deputy Governor, he took over when his predecessor, Joko Widodo, won election as Indonesia’s President in 2014. He continued Mr. Widodo’s work of improving city services and rooting out corruption.

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