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Widodo kicks off fresh term

October 21, 2019 00:00:00


JAKARTA, Oct 20 (AFP): Indonesia's President Joko Widodo will kick off a fresh term on Sunday, facing a wave of crises and with Jakarta under heavy security days after Islamist militants tried to assassinate his top security minister.

More than 30,000 security personnel were deployed in the capital amid fears of another attack during an inauguration ceremony for Widodo, 58, and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, 76, attended by foreign delegations and heads of state, which is scheduled to start at around 2:30 pm (0730 GMT).

Celebrations are expected to be muted after mass demonstrations were banned Sunday over fears the inauguration might be used as cover for another attack as militancy continues to plague the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.

Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, was meeting with several visiting leaders including Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison before the swearing-in.

Jokowi - a popular, heavy metal-loving former businessman from outside the political and military elite - was hailed as Indonesia's answer to Barack Obama when he was first elected in 2014 to lead the world's third-biggest democracy.


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