Hanoi (VNA) - An estimated80,000 Indonesian Muslims marched from a mosque to a square in Jakarta onDecember 17 to protest against US President Donald Trump’s decision torecognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
According to local policemen, the protestwas peaceful. However, over 20,000 police and security officers were deployedto maintain order in the capital city.
Speaking in front of the crowd, AnwarAbbas, a top cleric from the Indonesian Council of Ulema, urged all countriesto reject President Donald Trump’s decision, saying that it is a unilateral andillegal decision.
He also called on all Indonesians to stopbuying American and Israeli products, while the crowd responded by wavingIndonesian and Palestinian flags and holding banners expressing their supportfor Palestine.
Previously, several protests of smallerscale had taken place in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 anddeclared the entire city as its capital in 1980, a move condemned by theinternational community to this day.
President Trump’s move was consideredreversing the US policy over the past many decades, and has met with protestaround the world.-VNA