Indonesian police on Friday urged Islamists leading opposition to Jakarta’s Christian governor to ensure a mass prayer remains peaceful when it takes place just days before the capital’s hard-fought elections.
The prayer coincides with the final day of campaigning for next Wednesday’s elections in the capital of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, where Purnama is competing against two prominent Muslim candidates.
National police chief Tito Karnavian said the Islamists had to limit their activities to worshipping around the mosque and could not march through the city. Police refused an initial request by the Islamists to hold a rally.
“There will only be worshipping,” he told a press conference. If the Islamists attempt to march through the city, “the police supported by the military will take firm action”, he said.