ICC Note:

Indonesia has arrested five people suspected of treason ahead of a protest against Jakarta’s Christian Chinese governor. The police allege that the plans of the protesters included to occupy the Indonesian parliament building. Turnout for the most recent protest was only about 10,000-15,000 protesters, a number much lower than the 150,000-200,000 protesters that participated in the last election. The governor, known as Ahok, is widely popular for the reforms he has implemented. Many Muslims, however, are insisting that they cannot be governed by a Christian. They are calling for him to be imprisoned for “blasphemy” after a speech he made in which he alluded to the Quran. Many however, see this only as a power play to remove him from the candidacy.

3/31/2017 Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian police arrested five people, including a leader of a hardline Islamist group, for suspected treason on Friday before a protest by thousands of Muslims demanding the sacking of Jakarta’s Christian governor, a police spokesman said.

Religious and political tensions have been running high ahead of the second and final round of the Jakarta election on April 19. Incumbent Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is on trial for blasphemy, is competing against a Muslim candidate.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told Indonesia media that five people had been arrested early on Friday, including Muhammad Al Khaththath, a leader of the Islamic People’s Forum (FUI), a hardline group that organized Friday’s rally.

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