Labor protestors set fire to flower boards thanking ousted governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and his running mate for their good work as Jakarta’s massive May Day rally drew to a close Monday afternoon, according to reports in local media.
Members of two national labor unions—the Indonesian Electric Metal Workers Federation and the All Indonesia Labor Union (SPSI)—reportedly turned their anger on the flower boards after police set up blockades and refused to allow them to get closer to Istana Merdeka (the Presidential Palace). The protestors then shifted their attentions to City Hall, where thousands of flower boards have crowded the building’s grounds since they began to arrive last week.
Videos by VICE
Watch our documentary on the Jakarta governor’s election: Fault Lines, Trials and Tribulations on the Streets of Jakarta
“Comrades, we need to clean up this mess around City Hall,” a man shouted from atop a sound truck, according to reports in local media. He then urged the union members to sweep the grounds for the flower boards and set them alight.
“These flowers board are ruining the cleanliness of our beloved street,” the man said. “Please gather all the flowers and burn it all down on the street.”
The flower boards, a common symbol of congratulations and condolences in Indonesia, began to arrive at Jakarta’s City Hall last week as fans of the current governor, a man known as Ahok, expressed their thanks for his time at the helm of the Indonesian capital. Ahok, a Chinese Christian, lost his re-election campaign in a race that quickly divided Jakarta’s voters along class, sectarian, and racial lines.
But the boards quickly became as contentious as the race itself. As the hashtag #GombalinAhok (sweet talk for Ahok) trended online, the supporters of the election’s victor, former education minister Anies Baswedan, told the Ahok crowd to get over the loss and stop move on.
Monday’s bonfire set off a similar wave of anger from the Ahok crowd, who accused a small number of protesters from tarnishing what was an otherwise peaceful rally.
Others were happy to see the flower boards go. “Laborers are used to working hard. Those flower boards were just rubbish. They won’t change anything to our lives. So it is absolutely correct to burn them down!” #MayDay” tweeted Aditya Iskandar.
Police and fire fighters snuffed out the flames a short while later.
