However, the masses, who planned to rally in front of the Merdeka Palace, could not go ahead with their plan since they were blocked by barbed wire installed on two road segments in front of the Ministry of Tourism, Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat.
Not only barbed wire, but three layers of posse of police also prevented the masses from continuing the march to the front of the Palace.
The action of Defend Tawheed 211 was originally planned to be centered in front of Merdeka Palace, Jakarta.
The masses began to move towards Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat after participating in the Friday prayer service at the Istiqlal Mosque.
Slamet Maarif, a spokesman for the Islamic Defenders Front, revealed two demands voiced by the masses, the first being that the government should acknowledge that a black flag bearing tawheed (creed) in Arabic letters was burned on National Santri Day in Garut, West Java, while the second demand was for law enforcement officials to crack down on the intellectual actors behind the incident.
Until 1:27 WIB, the masses continued to trickle in from the direction of Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan.
Reporting by Genta Tenri Mawangi
Editing by Andi Abdussalam, Suharto
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
