Sectarian Fanatics Screw Up My Trip Downtown!
It was a fine sunny morning, but although there was no risk of rain, which makes Jakarta’s traffic even more awful than usual, I left early.
.
.
My plan was to do a spot of shopping – some plums and mangoes for a visitor tomorrow who likes fruit – then meet up with my young Indonesian crowd.
We get together for a chat quite often! Their English improves and we exchange views on current events. I’ve been doing this since I quit teaching – it’s fun.
I got to Harmoni, where I change buses, and jumped aboard a No.2…
.
..
…which promptly turned left, east, instead of going due south as usual.
Baffled, I fumed helplessly.
Then through the window I discerned the problem.
IIslamist Fanatics!
They tend to wear white, with green trimmings, many of them being attached to the notorious Islam Defenders Front, the FPI..
.
=‘Community Organisation‘ FPI in action!
=
…though there are several such groups, some of taking great delight in traipsing around town clad in ludicrous Arab gear.
But why a Monday morning?.
Of course such people don’t give a hoot about the inconvenience they cause normal folks who go to work and earn an honest living. There were thousands prowling the city centre today, no evident inclination to earn a living or attend school.
Nice life, being a sectarian!
Thanks to my hi-tech handphone, I’d worked out what the day’s excuse was.
212. Not just the matching date, but the self-styled 212 ‘alumni!’
I append a link to expand my explanation.
A group calling itself the 212 Rally Alumni was established to gather people who were involved in the rally on Dec. 2, 2016, to call for the prosecution of then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, for blasphemy.
You might have thought ‘alumni’ a singularly unsuitable word – it tends to be used in Western countries to mean ‘graduates’ but when I think back to the blood-thirsty bigots who shuffled through Jakarta demanding that good governor be not just prosecuted but murdered…
The protesters, most of whom were men dressed in white Muslim attire, were heard yelling, “We want a Muslim governor,” “Burn Ahok!” and “Kafir!” http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/14/thousands-hard-liners-march-against-ahok.htm
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Ahok
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Astuti and 
Diana are discussing. 
rossrightangle 
Diana 04:34 on December 3, 2019 Permalink |
Why do you continue to live there?
That was my first question but consider it cancelled. I have thought a while about it.
We have the same kind of fanatics here too, haters who tell us their religion is not to be criticised.
And our weather is worse than where you are.
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Astuti 06:35 on December 3, 2019 Permalink |
Morning Ross.
I also had traffic problem yesterday.
These people do not care. They can demonstrate on weekend but instead make life hard for us on Monday.
I am happy when you write again about Indonesia. Please write more.
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