Indra Harsaputra, Banyuwangi – Ulemas organized a mass rally Thursday to demand Banyuwangi Regent Ratna Ani Lestari resign within 24 hours for allegedly blaspheming Islam.
Thousands of members of non-governmental organizations, the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama and the Islam Defenders Front rallied at the regency administration office in the East Java town.
Among their accusations is that she practices a different religion from that stated on her ID card. Banyuwangi native Ratna, who was Muslim, is married to the Hindu regent of Jembrana in Bali.
They also accuse her of distorting verses from the Koran, and including the price of pork – forbidden for consumption by Muslims – in the regional budget. "This really hurts us. The demand for her resignation is firm," said one of the leaders of the protesters, Suroso.
Ratna was reportedly in Jakarta to attend a meeting with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.
Allegations against Ratna first surfaced in July 2005, a month after she was elected to a five-year term. A group calling itself the Forum Concerned for the Safety of Banyuwangi reported her to the local police for allegedly using Koranic verses in her election campaign, Suara Merdeka news portal reported last year.
All parties in the Banyuwangi Legislative Council are supporting the demand for her resignation, except the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which originally endorsed her bid for the regency leadership.
"We fully support the request by ulemas for Ratna to resign. She has hurt the feelings of ulemas and the people," Banyuwangi Legislative Council speaker Ahmad Wahyudi told The Jakarta Post.
PDI-P believed political maneuvering was behind the bid to unseat Ratna. The party's Banyuwangi chapter chairman, Hermanto, said that the council's support for Ratna's resignation was premature and legally suspect because she was not formally accused of a crime.
"We reject the demand from the parties because it is in the interest of only a handful of people and does not represent the aspirations of the Banyuwangi people," Hermanto said.
Although Thursday's protest was orderly, organizers said there was no guarantee protesters would remain calm if Ratna ignored the ultimatum to resign. They threatened to return in greater numbers Friday.
East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Herman Sumawiredja had issued a shoot-on-sight order for protesters who became unruly. Up to 600 police personnel were deployed for the demonstration, and they were stationed at a number of high-risk sites, public facilities as well as Ketapang harbor, which links Banyuwangi and Gilimanuk in Bali.