Indonesia for Rohingya
A lot of political pressure has been put on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his administration to provide assistance to Rohingya Muslims being driven out of Myanmar's Rakhine State.
Daily demonstrations have been held in front of the Myanmar Embassy on Jalan Agus Salim in Central Jakarta, not far from the iconic Hotel Indonesia traffic circle. The embassy wall is now almost completely encircled with barbed wire fence.
Some protesters called for the expulsion of Myanmar Ambassador U Aung Htoo, and for diplomatic ties between the two countries to be severed.
A petrol bomb was thrown at the embassy two weeks ago, causing a small fire.
Islamist groups planned to stage a massive rally at Borobudur Temple in Central Java — the biggest Buddhist temple in the world — to protest against the treatment of the Rohingya, but the plan was quickly quashed by the police.
On Wednesday (13/09), Jokowi and foreign minister Retno Marsudi, who has been on a diplomatic mission to Myanmar where she met leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sent off Indonesian Air Force planes carrying aid for Rohingya Muslims stuck in refugee camps on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.
The aid expedition has been dubbed "Civic Mission Indonesia" by the Indonesian government.
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