Last Friday, thousands of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) members protested in front of City Hall demanding that Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama he be punished for purportedly making anti-Islam remarks in a video (which was established to be edited out of context).
This photo, which was taken on Friday afternoon, shows the enormous scale of the protest.
But aside from the political protest, another main talking point about last Friday was how these poor plants became unnecessary casualties.
The flattened flowers in the photo were part of a garden that runs along the road divider on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, which is maintained by the Jakarta provincial government. But before anyone accuses FPI’s protesters for destroying the garden, you should know that the FPI placed the blame on journalists who were covering the protest – all two or three of them.
But Ahok seems convinced that the protesters were to blame.
“Forgive them (FPI) for they don’t know what they’re doing,” Ahok said today, as quoted by Merdeka, before adding that wants FPI to pay for the damages.
However, Vice Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said they can’t hold anyone accountable as it’s difficult to identify exactly who damaged the garden during a mass protest. The garden’s repair is estimated to cost around Rp 60 million.
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