TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The riot that broke out at the end of the rally on November 4 in Monas, Central Jakarta, has broken 6,600 trees and a number of public facilities. Especially the ones in front of the Palace and the roads that got passed. “Our task is to fix every damaged facility; we’ll have to replace the ones in the area of Monas,” said the Acting Jakarta Governor Soni Sumarsono on Monday, November 7, 2016.

Thousands of protesters headed home after took a prayer at 18.00 p.m. Western Indonesian Time but around hundreds of people were still crowding the Monas area and in front of the Presidential Palace. After performing the Isha (night) prayers, the protesters clashed with the police. Police fired tear gas into the crowd in order to disband the protesters since they have passed the time (in conducting the rally) but they responded by throwing pebbles and other objects.

Currently, Soni said, the damaged facilities are already being taken care of. “We have welded six broken spots on the gate,” he said.

Other than trees and fences in Monas’ vicinity, he said three Transjakarta buses were also damaged due to the riot. Public street lights and bus stations were also damaged. Soni estimated the loss to be around Rp500 million.

Riots also broke out at Penjaringan, North Jakarta. Vehicles were burned and a mini market was raided empty. Soni said that a number of public facilities at Penjaringan needs to be fixed.

The November 4 protest was participated by hundreds of thousands people. They demanded the inactive Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama to be punished for his statements on the alleged religious defamation. The protest started peacefully but ended in a riot between protesters and the police after the protesters refused to disband.

EGI ADYATAMA