Authorities in Jakarta gears up for any possibilities as Islamic group 212 Rally Alumni plans for a ‘reunion’ at the National Monument (Monas) Square in Central Jakarta on Dec 2.
The group was named after the Dec. 2, 2016 rally, to call for the prosecution of then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy. They plan to hold the second-year “reunion” on Sunday, previously claiming that it would be a small event, and would not need any special arrangements.
About 20,000 personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI), Jakarta Police and the city administration will be stationed at several locations, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Friday.
He said the police were currently preparing a traffic engineering scheme for Sunday.
“It will be situational in the field. Officers themselves will decide whether there will be a traffic diversion, contraflow or open-closed policy,” Argo said.
Jakarta Transportation Agency acting head Sigit Wijatmoko said that as a result of this rally, the weekly Sunday’s Car Free Day (CFD) held along main roads Jl. Jendral Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin will be restricted.
“After coordinating with the police, [it was decided that] residents will still have a Car Free Day event, but only on Jl. Sudirman,” Sigit said on Friday, adding that the agency would deploy 350 of its officers for traffic management.
Source: Jakarta Post
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