The Indonesian Police placed a last-minute ban on Sunday on an already-approved parade by the Falungong spiritual movement from the National Monument (Monas) to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
About 700 Falungong members, including representatives from 10 foreign countries, arrived at the National Monument at about noon. As they prepared for the parade to the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle, they were told by police to disperse.
This caused some confusion, as the organizer of the event said a license had already been secured from the National Police to parade from Monas to HI and back again to Monas.
The organizer told the Falungong members to wait at Monas while they waited for some explanation from the police.
At about 2 p.m., the police arrived with written instructions banning the parade and ordering the Falungong members to disperse.
An officer with the Jakarta Police information bureau, Tabrani, confirmed that the National Police had issued a license for the Falungong parade weeks ago.
"Yes, the permit was issued, but today the permit was revoked," Tabrani said. He refused to elaborate.
Police sources said that the National Police revoked the permit following pressure from the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the secretary of the Indonesian Falungong Association, Liman Kurniawan, said his group would send representatives to the National Police Headquarters for clarification on the matter.
He said that he suspected the revocation of the permit was due to pressure from the Chinese government.
"The Chinese authorities, through its embassy here, were probably dissatisfied with our activities," Liman said.
He also speculated that the revocation of the parade license could have been the result of an incident on Saturday when an unidentified person forced his way into a Falungong conference at Le Meridien Hotel on Jl. Sudirman.
Liman maintained that the conference, called the Indonesia Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference, had nothing to do with politics. "It was merely a forum to share experiences."
In response to the incidents on Sunday, a Falungong member from Sweden, Jorgen Persson, said he would accept it as a fact of life.
"I was not disappointed about the ban," Persson, who has been a Falungong devotee for more than three years, said.
Nevertheless, Liman said some Falungong members would stage a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy on Monday to protest the incident and what they described as China's harsh treatment of Falungong members.
There was no statement from the Chinese Embassy here.
As the spiritual organization grew in popularity and gained the support of a large number of members in China, it was banned by the authorities there.
Some Communist Party members also reportedly joined Falungong, which teaches morality and spiritual healing through meditation.
Since it was banned, human rights groups have claimed that anywhere from hundreds to thousands of devotees have died or been injured in police detention in China.
Matt Sibleys, a Falungong member from Australia, said that should the Chinese authorities take time to study the movement, they would understand its undefiled moral teachings.
"I think they were afraid of losing control over the spiritual followers who got enlightenment," he said.