Indonesia Highlights: Indonesia to Receive Over 30 Million Covid-19 Vaccines to the End of 2021 | Jakarta Metropolitan Police to Secure Trial of Islamic Firebrand Rizieq Shihab | Mob Attempts to Storm

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The controversy over British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca might continue in Indonesia and other countries. But this does not stop the government’s aim of vaccinating more than 180 million Indonesians this year to gain herd immunity against Covid-19.

The Jakarta Metropolitan Police have deployed more than 600 of its personnel to safeguard the East Jakarta District Court ahead of the trial of Islamic firebrand Rizieq Shihab for violating health protocols and other issues. The force is also on standby against his followers.

The internal conflict within the Democrat Party shifted to the streets of Jakarta, after dozens of protesters invaded the party’s offices in Jakarta following reports that it involved university students in the dispute.

Read on for more of these stories, as curated by our editors:

SHUTTERSTOCK/PalSand Illustration of Covid-19 vaccine.

Indonesia to Receive Over 30 Million Covid-19 Vaccines to the End of 2021

Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin has announced that the country will receive 11.7 million free doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine through May 2021, even as the product is under fire with countries worldwide for allegedly causing blood clots in some vaccine recipients.

“The 11.7 million Covid-19 vaccines are the result of multilateral cooperation with the GAVI Covax Facility,” he said at a hearing with the House of Representatives’ Commission IX on Demographic Affairs, Health, Manpower and Transmigration on Monday.

“We are expected to receive 2.5 million doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine on March 22, two weeks after receiving 1.1 million doses of the vaccine. We will be the recipient of another 7.8 million tons next April, before the last of the shipment comes with 199,200 doses next May.”

Indonesia will still receive the vaccines, though the government followed suit with a number of European countries such as Austria and Denmark in delaying their use. The controversy over the AstraZeneca vaccines does not stop the government from procuring vaccines for mass vaccinations.

State owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma said that it received commitments from the China-based Sinopharm and the US-based Moderna pharmaceutical companies to be supplied with 20.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We have requested Sinopharm to bring 15 million doses of the vaccine to Indonesia at the end of March, or the end of the second quarter of 2021. They also agreed to supply another 15 million doses if Indonesia needs more vaccines,” said Bio Farma President Director Honesti Basyir.

He added that Moderna is committed to sending 5.2 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to Indonesia. However, Honesti noted it will not arrive until the third quarter of 2021.

Source:

https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/03/15/133909526/menkes-117-juta-dosis-vaksin-covid-19-gratis-masuk-ke-indonesia-hingga-mei. 

https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/03/15/135419726/ri-akan-datangkan-202-juta-dosis-vaksin-untuk-vaksinasi-gotong-royong. 

Kompas.com/Sonya Teresa FPI chief Rizieq Shihab turns himself in at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters on Saturday (13/12/2020)

Jakarta Metropolitan Police to Secure Trial of Islamic Firebrand Rizieq Shihab

The Jakarta Metropolitan Police will deploy 659 men to the East Jakarta District Court to secure the venue, as the trial of Islamic firebrand Rizieq Shihab, the former chairman of the recently banned Islamic Defenders Front or FPI, is expected to start on Tuesday, March 16.

“The security is carried out to anticipate the large number of [Rizieq’s] followers. 555 of the men are from theJakarta Metropolitan Police, while the rest are from the East Jakarta Police Department,” said East Jakarta Police Department chief Police Grand Commissioner Erwin Kurniawan.

Speaking on Monday, Erwin added that the police “will also be reinforced with soldiers from the Army’s Jakarta Garrison.” He did not disclose how many will be deployed to anticipate the unrest.

Erwin also insisted that visitors comply with health protocols, such as not converging in crowd, as they came to offer moral support to Rizieq.

Rizieq’s attorney Sugito Atmo Prawiro confirmed that his followers will come to the hearing. Prosecutors have charged Rizieq with violating a number of health protocols, among them attracting crowds near FPI’s offices in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, and Megamendung, West Java.

The cleric was also charged for withholding the results of his swab test at the Ummi Hospital in Bogor, West Java.

Rizieq’s legal troubles, which included a confrontation with the police on a toll road outside Jakarta that killed six of his followers, occurred following his return from exile in Saudi Arabia in November 2020.

Source:

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/03/15/20115021/sidang-perdana-rizieq-shihab-di-pn-jaktim-659-personel-antisipasi-massa. 

TRIBUNJAKARTA.COM/MUHAMMAD RIZKI HIDAYAT Mob attempts to storm the headquarters of the Democrat Party's offices in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday night (15/3/2021)

Mob Attempts to Storm Democrat Party Headquarters in Jakarta

The internal conflict dividing former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY’s Democrat Party has spilled onto the streets of Jakarta, after a 30-strong crowd attempted to storm the party’s headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday evening.

The Antara state news agency reported that the mob, who claimed to be university students, demanded party head and SBY’s son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono or AHY to clarify his statement that he received the support of university students.

“University student should not be involved in tensions within any political parties,” said representatives of the group.

Antara added that the group met with Democrat Party spokesman Herzaky Mahendra Putra, who verified that a student delegation met with Agus. Herzaky also maintained that the student, who came from 10 universities around the Jakarta area, offered their support.

But Herzaky’s explanation still dissatisfied the students, who carried on their protests. “We want to meet AHY,” the students demanded. They also threatened to cordon off the party headquarters by sealing off the streets from Cikini, Central Jakarta to Matraman, East Jakarta.

Kompas.com’s affiliate Tribunnews.com also reported that the students defied police requests to leave the scene. The police then deployed the Mobile Brigade Corps or Brimob, causing the protesters to disperse.

“The police deployed Brimob because the protesters held a demonstration without a permit, as it was carried out in the evening, or after hours that protests are permitted,” said Central Jakarta Police Department chief Police Grand Commissioner Hengki Haryadi.

“They also violated Covid-19 health protocols, as their numbers exceeded the permitted minimum for groups.”

The Democrat Party is one of Indonesia’s leading opposition parties, along with the Social Justice Party or PKS. The party was split between factions supporting AHY and President Jokowi’s Chief of Staff, former Army General Moeldoko.

Source:

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/03/15/23070891/ini-penyebab-massa-geruduk-kantor-dpp-demokrat-malam-malam.