About 130,000 people marched in Central Jakarta on January 5th in the name of inter-faith peace, organisers said.

The throng, who represented Indonesia's rainbow of religions and communal groups, walked from the National Monument (Monas) to the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout and back.

The march coincided with the first national Religious Harmony Day, organised by the Religious Affairs Ministry.

Similar marches were to take place in 17 other provinces, the Jakarta Post reported, with Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Confucian groups all expected in the Jakarta procession, it said.

Vice President Boediono and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali opened the event.

"For this inaugural Religious Harmony Day, we want to show to the world that Indonesia still appreciates unity as our country's foundation," Suryadharma told the crowd before the march kicked off.

"We are all Indonesians," he said, telling them to take the message home.

Out of many, one

Kamaruddin Amin, organising committee head, rated the day a success.

"We received many positive messages about the event. Indeed, the event has brought people together regardless of their religion. Not only that, various religious organisations also participated in this long march," Kamaruddin told Khabar Southeast Asia afterward.

"This is a real example of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika ("Unity in Diversity"), our official national motto," he added.

Clerics from different faiths praised the show of inter-faith and inter-communal solidarity.

"I can tell that with this event, the Indonesian government is serious about promoting religious harmony," Catholic priest Edy Purwanto told Khabar. "The long march breaks the myth that [the state of] religious intolerance in Indonesia can't be fixed."

Buddhist leader Suhadi Sanjaya pointed out thousands of people from outside Java converged on Jakarta for the march.

"We need to deliver this message at the local level and to continue to maintain harmony," Suhadi told Khabar.

For his part, Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP) Executive Director Mohammad Monib, said Indonesians must continue to promote the idea behind Religious Harmony Day.

"Despite all of success of the inaugural tolerance day, we still have a lot of homework in improving our tolerance," Monib told Khabar on January 6th.