Protest in Indonesia (Source: AP) Hanoi (VNA) - An estimated 80,000 Indonesian Muslims marched from a mosque to a square in Jakarta on December 17 to protest against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
According to local policemen, the protest was peaceful. However, over 20,000 police and security officers were deployed to maintain order in the capital city.
Speaking in front of the crowd, Anwar Abbas, a top cleric from the Indonesian Council of Ulema, urged all countries to reject President Donald Trump’s decision, saying that it is a unilateral and illegal decision.
He also called on all Indonesians to stop buying American and Israeli products, while the crowd responded by waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags and holding banners expressing their support for Palestine.
Previously, several protests of smaller scale had taken place in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and declared the entire city as its capital in 1980, a move condemned by the international community to this day.
President Trump’s move was considered reversing the US policy over the past many decades, and has met with protest around the world.-VNA
