In the hours before tens of thousands of Indonesians converged in Jakarta to once again call for the jailing of the capital's Christian governor, eight people were arrested on suspicion of treason.
President Joko Widodo has blamed "political actors" for exploiting the popular fury over Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to destabilise his government, and underlining those concerns, 10 people in total were arrested - eight for alleged treason and two for allegedly breaching information technology laws.
The sister of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and musician Ahmad Dhani are believed to be among those detained.
"(There has been) observation, monitoring, investigation by the (investigating) team for around the past three to four weeks," national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said on Friday.
He said they would be held until Saturday morning, when police would determine whether they would continue to be detained.
It comes after police initially tried to ban Friday's rally over fears it would be a repeat of November's large-scale demonstration against Mr Purnama, who is commonly referred to as Ahok.
The November demonstration descended into violence, with hundreds injured, one dead and police vehicles burnt.
However, after the hardline Muslim group the Islamic Defenders Front agreed to several restrictions, police and the military worked together to maintain what they described as a "peaceful congregation", urging unity and quiet prayer on Friday.
Holding signs saying "Jakarta governor destroys religious harmony" and "Jail Ahok", streets around the National Monument in the capital's centre ground to a halt on Friday morning as people streamed towards the structure from all sides of the city.
About 200,000 demonstrators were estimated to have attended.
Most were seated quietly around the monument grounds throughout the morning, with no reported clashes between demonstrators and police.
About noon, as rain began to fall, Mr Widodo arrived at the monument, along with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and Security Minister Wiranto, to join in prayer.
Mr Widodo later addressed the crowd, thanking them for keeping the peace and urging them to go home safely.
The crowd immediately responded with a chant, demanding Ahok's arrest.
The tensions around Ahok, who is set to face court for alleged blasphemy over comments he made referring to the Koran in September, has placed enormous pressure on the popular President who has been viewed as a supporter of the governor.
Mr Widodo has previously criticised "political actors" for taking advantage of the last rally.
Ahok is locked in a three-way race for the capital's top post with former education minister Anies Baswedan and Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The election will be held in February.
President Joko Widodo has blamed "political actors" for exploiting the popular fury over Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to destabilise his government, and underlining those concerns, 10 people in total were arrested - eight for alleged treason and two for allegedly breaching information technology laws.
The sister of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri and musician Ahmad Dhani are believed to be among those detained.
"(There has been) observation, monitoring, investigation by the (investigating) team for around the past three to four weeks," national police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said on Friday.
He said they would be held until Saturday morning, when police would determine whether they would continue to be detained.
It comes after police initially tried to ban Friday's rally over fears it would be a repeat of November's large-scale demonstration against Mr Purnama, who is commonly referred to as Ahok.
The November demonstration descended into violence, with hundreds injured, one dead and police vehicles burnt.
However, after the hardline Muslim group the Islamic Defenders Front agreed to several restrictions, police and the military worked together to maintain what they described as a "peaceful congregation", urging unity and quiet prayer on Friday.
Holding signs saying "Jakarta governor destroys religious harmony" and "Jail Ahok", streets around the National Monument in the capital's centre ground to a halt on Friday morning as people streamed towards the structure from all sides of the city.
About 200,000 demonstrators were estimated to have attended.
Most were seated quietly around the monument grounds throughout the morning, with no reported clashes between demonstrators and police.
About noon, as rain began to fall, Mr Widodo arrived at the monument, along with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and Security Minister Wiranto, to join in prayer.
Mr Widodo later addressed the crowd, thanking them for keeping the peace and urging them to go home safely.
The crowd immediately responded with a chant, demanding Ahok's arrest.
The tensions around Ahok, who is set to face court for alleged blasphemy over comments he made referring to the Koran in September, has placed enormous pressure on the popular President who has been viewed as a supporter of the governor.
Mr Widodo has previously criticised "political actors" for taking advantage of the last rally.
Ahok is locked in a three-way race for the capital's top post with former education minister Anies Baswedan and Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The election will be held in February.
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