Pro-diversity mass demonstration takes place in Jakarta

• Known as the Bhineka Tunggal Ika (“Unity in Diversity”) Parade, the event brought hundreds of pro-diversity demonstrators out dressed in red and white (the national colors) and traditional dress to support ethnic and religious unity in the country.
• The peaceful event was a response to growing concerns about the influence of fundamentalist Islamic leaders in the Muslim-majority country.
• Recently, hundreds of thousands protested in a call for Jakarta’s governor, an ethnic Chinese Christian, to be charged with blasphemy, and an attack on a church in Samarinda left three children injured and one dead.

Read more:
“Hundreds join Bhineka Tunggal Ika Parade” (The Jakarta Post)
“Thousands of Indonesians rally against racial, religious intolerance” (Reuters)
“Indonesia Says Jakarta’s Christian Governor Is Suspected of Blasphemy” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Wienda Parwitasari/The Jakarta Post)