ANTI-CORRUPTION protesters have taken to the streets of Indonesia despite a threatening police presence.
Reported the Irrawaddy website: "Thousands of people gathered at rallies throughout Indonesia on Wednesday to demand government action to end widespread corruption among politicians, police and other public officials.
"More than a dozen rallies—an annual event in this Muslim-dominated nation to mark International Anti-Corruption Day—were planned for the national capital of Jakarta and several of Indonesia's other larger cities.
"The palace of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono—who is under pressure to act after winning re-election in July on promises of stamping out graft—was to be the site of a large protest later in the day, protest organizer Usman Hamid said. Hundreds of anti-riot police personnel were stationed outside his palace, backed up by two water cannons."
The previous day the president had warned that unnamed forces could hijack the rally to topple him.
"There will be 10,000 police personnel deployed tomorrow in several spots that will be passed by demonstrators," Jakarta police spokesman Boy Rafli told AFP.
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