ICC Note:

Ahead of the next round of scheduled hardline Muslim protests, the government has taken to dropping leaflets from helicopters to urge calm and warn of penalties if violence breaks out. The organizers of the protest, the Islamic Defender’s Front, have promised a peaceful protest but maintain calls for the arrest of the Governor of Jakarta who is under investigation over allegations of blasphemy against the Quran. Many have speculated that the protests are merely a front for political opposition. There is also fear that the protests are encouraging renewed violence against ethnic and religious minorities. In 1998, riots against Chinese Indonesians, among whom many are Christians, resulted in the death of other 1,000 people.

11/28/2016 Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for calm on Thursday amid simmering religious tension as helicopters dropped police leaflets over the capital, warning residents of the risk of harsh penalties if new rallies led by Islamists turn violent.

Widodo sought this week to reassure investors and show his political coalition is united after over 100,000 Muslims, led by hardline groups, took to the streets on Nov. 4 to call for the ouster of Jakarta’s Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, accused of insulting the Koran.

One person was killed and more than 100 were wounded when the protest, the biggest in the city in recent years, briefly turned violent, and police fired tear gas and water cannon.

“I just want to convey one word and that is optimism. Let us not forget that word…even though the political situation is a little heated,” Widodo told an investors’ forum.

Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population and is home to Christian and Hindu communities.

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