Indonesia radicals rally for ‘Myanmar jihad’ after Jakarta bomb plot foiled (PHOTOS)
A protester belonging to the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) holds a placard calling to ‘stop the massacre of Muslim Rohingya and Myanmar Buddhists cowards’ during a rally near at the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta on May 3, 2013. The protest highlighted the growing anger in Muslim-majority Indonesia over a string of religious clashes in largely-Buddhist Myanmar, that have left many minority Muslims dead and tens of thousands displaced. Meanwhile, two Indonesians were detained over a plot to bomb the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta, officials said.
Members of radical groups in Jakarta rallied Friday calling for a "Myanmar jihad" to avenge Muslim deaths after two Indonesians were detained over a plot to bomb the Myanmar embassy.
"It has been [going on for a] long [time], our brothers in Rohingya have been tortured by Myanmar military, Buddhist monks and Buddhist people in Myanmar. There is no other way for our Muslim brothers in Rohingya, we have to wage jihad," Islamic Defender Front (FPI) chairman Rizieq Shihab told the Jakarta Globe during a protest at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
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The FPI, along with hundreds of members of other Muslim groups, marched to the Myanmar embassy on Friday, carrying banners that said "We want to kill Myanmar Buddhists" and "Stop genocide in Myanmar."
They also torched the Myanmar flag as they chanted "Burn down the embassy" and demanded to speak to officials inside. The embassy was heavily guarded, with hundreds of police in riot gear standing by.
The two suspected militants in the bomb plot were arrested Thursday night. Five homemade bombs were seized from a backpack they were carrying after police received a tip about their location.
Achmad Taufiq, 22, and Sefa Riano, 29, were allegedly part of a cell involved in recent attacks on Indonesian police. Their interrogation gave investigators information that led them to a house where police found other explosive materials.
Both the rally and the bomb plot highlight growing anger in Indonesia, which has a Muslim majority, as clashes in Buddhist-majority Myanmar have left numerous Muslims dead and tens of thousands displaced.
At least one person was killed in central Myanmar when mosques and homes were attacked in the country's latest anti-Muslim violence.