Student Activists Run Amok in Indonesia over Dutch Film
By Kenneth Conboy
During the week since Fitna was released over the internet, the reaction in Indonesia has largely been muted. There were a pair of demonstrations in front of the Dutch embassy in downtown Jakarta by hardliners from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia and the Islamic Defender's Front, but both events were long on fiery rhetoric and short on violence.
That changed yesterday noon (2 April), when several dozen protesters from HMI, a Muslim student organization, vandalized the Dutch consulate in Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra. As of this morning (3 April), about two dozen HMI members were being held by the police.
The Medan incident was out of character, as protests in that city tend to be violence-free. The Indonesian authorities will now no doubt be bolstering security in cities where the Netherlands has consulates or cultural centers--including Jogjakarta and Surabaya--and especially following prayers on Friday noon.
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