Hundreds join anti-corruption rally in Indonesia

Hundreds of Indonesians gathered in the capital Jakarta on Sunday to protest perceived moves to cripple the country's once-powerful corruption watchdog.

A man holds his fist up to a picture of detained official Anggodo Widjojo, the detained brother of fugitive Anggoro Widjojo during a rally in support of the country's anti-graft agency. Hundreds of Indonesians have gathered in the country's capital to protest perceived moves to cripple the country's once-powerful corruption watchdog.

Musicians sang songs and supporters made speeches demanding President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono move to protect the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) after the release of wiretap recordings of police and prosecutors exposed an alleged high-level official conspiracy against it.

"The president must be more tough in protecting the KPK so it can do its job in fighting corruption," rally spokesman Illian Deta Arta Sari told AFP.

"We ask for the total cleanup of the criminal justice system in Indonesia. We must first get rid of corrupt officials... they're dirty brooms which shouldn't be used to sweep the house," she added.

Indonesia's top detective and the country's deputy chief prosecutor quit last Thursday after wiretap phone recordings implicated them in an alleged plot to falsely imprison two KPK investigators.

More than one million people have joined a group on social networking website Facebook supporting the two anti-graft investigators, who are still facing charges of extortion and abuse of power that the police refuse to drop.

"We back the KPK in fighting corruption. We believe the Internet has the power to unite people and help change the corruption situation in Indonesia for the better," the group's spokesman Ari Wibowo said.

The KPK has made enemies across the spectrum of Indonesian government and administration for its successful prosecutions and its far-reaching powers to wiretap suspects and probe their bank accounts.