By Xinhua,
Jakarta : Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday condemned attacks on a peaceful rally by the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) that left scores of people injured and vowed to take stern actions.
“I deeply regret the violence that broke in Jakarta yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, and I condemned with the strongest word possible those responsible for the violence that injured a number of citizens,” the president said in a press conference here without citing name.
“In response to the violent acts yesterday, I ask justice to be done and the perpetrators to be prosecuted, to show that this nation doesn’t bow to violence,” he said.
Members of the FPI, a radical group that won reputation for frequent vandalism acts targeting nightclubs and bars in the capital, attacked activists at the National Monument park in Central Jakarta Sunday.
They stormed into hundreds of people joining the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion during the 63rd anniversary of the Pancasila state ideology.