Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Clashes between protesters and Indonesian police in Jakarta turned violent

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has called off his visit to Australia after violent clashes at a Jakarta rally by thousands of hard-line Muslims.

Mr Widodo, also known as Jokowi, blamed "political actors" for exploiting the situation as protesters marched against Jakarta's governor.

The demonstrators accuse Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, of having insulted Islam's holy book, the Koran.

The clashes left one person dead and 12 wounded.

"We deplore the incident," Jokowi said as he called for calm on the streets of the country's capital.

In a statement on Saturday, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed that the Indonesian president had postponed his visit.

It comes after Indonesian police used tear gas and water cannon to subdue protesters who refused to disperse after Friday prayers as they congregated around the presidential palace.

Police had been braced for the possibility of religious and racial tensions erupting at the rally, attended by an estimated 50,000 people.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The protests were largely peaceful but some demonstrators clashed with police

It had mostly been peaceful but groups of angry demonstrators clashed with police after nightfall and set vehicles alight.

A Muslim group, the Islamic Defenders' Front, has accused Mr Purnama of insulting Islam after he said his opponents had used a verse from the Koran to deceive voters.

The verse can be interpreted as meaning that Muslims should not choose non-Muslims as leaders.

The protest was held to demand that Mr Purnama be prosecuted for blasphemy over the comments.

Mr Purnama has apologised but formal complaints have led to an investigation by police.

Muslims are the majority in Indonesia which has a population of 250 million.</s>JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has postponed a trip to Australia due to start Sunday after violence broke out at a mass rally against a Christian governor accused of insulting Islam, the government said.

Around 50,000 people marched in Jakarta on Friday to protest comments made by governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, with clashes erupting between police and demonstrators—one of whom reportedly died of an asthma attack.

“Current development has required the President to stay in Indonesia,” a statement released on Saturday by the foreign ministry said.

Widodo visited Australia in 2014 for the G20 shortly after being elected as president, but this month’s trip would have marked his first official bilateral visit.

The statement added that Widodo had called Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to inform him that the trip, scheduled for 6-8 November, would be delayed.

Turnbull responded in a statement: “We were sorry we would not be able to welcome him to Australia tomorrow but entirely understood the need for him to remain in Indonesia at this time.”

The protest in Indonesia’s capital was triggered by accusations that Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, insulted Islam by criticizing opponents who used Koranic references to attack him ahead of an election in February.

Purnama apologized for the remarks, but his opponents have built a groundswell of support calling for his arrest and incarceration under Indonesia’s tough blasphemy laws.

Demonstrations were initially peaceful but turned ugly in the evening when protesters refused to go home, resulting in thousands of hardliners clashing with police, setting vehicles ablaze and hurling bottles and rocks at officers.

Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said one man died of an asthma attack during the protest, although some local media sites suggested it could have been brought on by tear gas.

About 160 people had to be treated for the effects of tear gas and eight police officers were also injured in the protest, he said.

Ten people thought to have instigated the violence have been arrested.

Police said they would be questioning the governor on Monday over the allegations which would be handled “quickly and transparently.”</s>Widodo postponed his Nov. 6 to 8 visit on Saturday after a mass protest in Jakarta on Friday that briefly turned violent as Muslim extremists pressed for the resignation of the capital's governor, a Christian they say insulted the Koran.

Indonesia's president has faced criticism for failing to rein in hardline groups that had promised for weeks to bring tens of thousands onto the streets of the capital.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita continued negotiations with his counterpart Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo on Sunday for a bilateral trade agreement expected to be reached by late next year.

Long-stalled discussions to secure a trade agreement resumed in March, despite the often uneasy relationship between the two neighbors.

"While it is unfortunate President Widodo had to postpone his visit, Minister Lukita's decision to visit Australia at this time to discuss the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement reflects the importance of this agreement to both governments," Ciobo said in a statement.

Widodo had been expected to address Australia's parliament on Monday after attending meetings with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Sunday.

Turnbull visited Indonesia last year in the hope of smoothing over ties strained by rows over spying, the execution of Australian citizens in Indonesia and Australia's tough asylum-seeker policies.

Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy but is only Australia's thirteenth-largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth A$15 billion ($11.51 billion) in 2015.

Australia is hoping for greater access to Indonesia for its live-cattle exports and other agricultural products. Additionally, negotiations are also expected for increased tourism and investment in Indonesia.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Saturday canceled a visit to Australia after a massive rally in the capital by Muslim hard-liners descended into violence, leaving one dead and 12 injured.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that Jokowi’s trip scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday will be rescheduled because “current development has required the president to stay in Indonesia.”

Jokowi addressed the nation late Friday after clashes broke out between police and hard-liners who refused to disperse and demanded the arrest of Jakarta’s minority-Christian governor for alleged blasphemy.

Police said one elderly man died from asthma attack after being exposed to tear gas, and the injured included eight soldiers and police and four civilians.

Jokowi blamed “political actors” for taking advantage of the rally. He didn’t elaborate, but his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had backed plans for the protest, drew tens of thousands of people.

The accusation of blasphemy against Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of Jokowi, has galvanized Jokowi’s political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million, and given a notorious group of hard-liners a national stage.

The Islamic Defenders Front, a vigilante group that wants to impose Shariah law, is demanding Ahok’s arrest after a video circulated online in which he joked to an audience about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. The governor has apologized for the comment and met with police.

As the rally turned violent overnight, MetroTV reported that a mob tried to enter the housing complex where Ahok lives in northern Jakarta but were stopped by police who fired tear gas.

Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said rioting in north Jakarta involving the looting of a convenience store and damage to police vehicles had been brought under control.</s>Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, commonly known as Ahok, is alleged to have insulted Islam by criticizing his opponents' use of a Quranic verse in a stump speech.

Police estimated 200,000 people took to the streets, CNN Indonesia reported. Many shouted inflammatory slogans, such as "kill Ahok," and "kill Ahok for insulting Islam."

Others carried signs demanding the death penalty for the official, and many marched with masks covering their faces to obscure their identities.

As many as 18,000 police and military personnel have been deployed for Friday's protest, and an inner ring of approximately 100 armed military guards are outside the Governor's residence, CNN Indonesia says.

There are fears that ISIS, and al-Qaeda, through its Indonesian proxy Jemaah Islamiyah, could seek to ferment violence. During a November 1 discussion on the rally at the Wahid Institute, Sidney Jones, Jakarta-based director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, explored the influence of foreign jihadists on the protesters. She said jihadist-run accounts on social media urged sympathizers of these groups to fan the flame of jihad in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. Police have called on demonstrators to exercise their right to protest and freedom of expression in a peaceful manner. Residents have been warned to avoid the protest route and avoid sharing "unclear... provocative and incorrect information" on social media, Police Chief Tito Karnavian said in a statement. The rally originates at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta and will end at the Presidential palace. Governments, including the UK and Australia, have urged their citizens in the city to exercise caution. Conservative Islamist opponents say that Ahok, who is a Christian of Chinese descent, should not administer a Muslim-majority city. They had previously quoted a verse from the Muslim holy book at a rally, which warns against Muslims allying themselves with non-believers. Ahok is a key ally of President Joko Widodo and was his deputy when Widodo -- also known as Jokowi -- was governor of Jakarta. Ahok is now the frontrunner in the 2017 gubernatorial race. Indonesian President Joko Widodo with Ahok after the latter's swearing in as governor on November 19, 2014. Jokowi has called for calm and is seeking support from Prabowo Subianto, his opponent in next year's presidential election. Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose son is running against Ahok, made a speech two days ago calling for the governor to be persecuted to placate the Islamist opposition and quell the protests. Protesters gather on October 14, calling for Ahok arrest and imprisonment. There are suggestions that Jokowi's government isn't doing enough to buttress against Islamist hardliners. When video of Ahok speaking out against the Quranic verse appeared online in October, there was widespread outrage from conservative, religious quarters, but at the time, critics say, the government did little to dampen down extremist reaction. "Pluralist politicians, like President Jokowi, were silent," Jones wrote at the beginning of November. "No one said, 'Let's stop this in it tracks.' Neither the President nor Vice-President did anything to try to cool tempers."</s>Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Saturday canceled a visit to Australia after a massive rally in the capital by Muslim hard-liners descended into violence, leaving one dead and nearly 200 injured.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that Jokowi's trip scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday will be rescheduled because "current development has required the president to stay in Indonesia."

Jokowi addressed the nation late Friday after clashes broke out between police and hard-liners who refused to disperse and demanded the arrest of Jakarta's minority-Christian governor for alleged blasphemy.

National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar told a news conference Saturday that one elderly man died from asthma attack after being exposed to tear gas, and more than 90 police and soldiers were injured, eight of them seriously. He said that about 160 protesters were hurt from tear gas effects, including four who were hospitalized.

Jokowi blamed "political actors" for taking advantage of the rally. He didn't elaborate, but his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had backed plans for the protest, drew tens of thousands of people.

The accusation of blasphemy against Jakarta Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese and minority Christian who is an ally of Jokowi, has galvanized Jokowi's political opponents in the Muslim-majority nation of 250 million, and given a notorious group of hard-liners a national stage.

The Islamic Defenders Front, a vigilante group that wants to impose Shariah law, is demanding Ahok's arrest after a video circulated online in which he joked to an audience about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. The governor has apologized for the comment and met with police.

Amar said the situation became uncontrollable when protesters broke through police barricades and security barriers in an attempt to enter the presidential palace before they were stopped by police firing tear gas. Three police and military trucks were burnt down and 18 vehicles damaged in the violence.

He said police are still investigating who was behind the violence and whether any political elements were involved with the aim of creating unrest.

Ten people were arrested for allegedly provoking riots near the presidential palace and 15 others for vandalism in northern Jakarta.

Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said rioting in north Jakarta involved the looting of a convenience store and damage to police vehicles.
Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia, cancels a planned visit to Australia following violent protests in Jakarta that resulted in one death and 12 injured.