JAKARTA: At least 370 people were detained, and a photojournalist was assaulted, when security personnel clashed with protesters on the streets around the House of Representatives compound in Central Jakarta on Monday (Aug 25).
Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) lawyers who visited the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday night found that many protesters were children and injured.
“About 370 people were detained by the police, of which some 200 were children,” said LBH Jakarta representative Daniel Winarta in a statement. The police said they had arrested 15 people, including four students, on Monday.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the House of Representatives complex on Monday (Aug 25) to protest alleged excessive salaries for lawmakers, including a monthly housing allowance of Rp 50 million (US$3,068) for each lawmaker.
The protesters said the lawmakers did not deserve high salaries given their poor performance. They also demanded the impeachment of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, whose appointment they considered unlawful.
In the heat of the clashes with protesters, Bayu Pratama, a photojournalist from Antara news agency was hit by a police officer who was on duty in the area.
Bayu said he was hit by a baton by one of the police officers when he was about to capture the moment when the police tried to disperse the protesters.
“I brought two cameras and had ID with me,” he said, adding that the police were so aggressive that they could not tell the difference between journalists and protesters.
He said he tried to block some of the hits, injuring his left hand, and eventually they broke his camera. The police also fired tear gas and water cannon that affected not only protesters, but also journalists, motorists and others in the area.
Responding to Monday’s protest, House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the recently announced housing allowance for lawmakers, which has been the source of much of the protests, was aimed at compensating the lawmakers who were no longer able to use official residences in Kalibata, South Jakarta.
He added that the allowance would only be provided until October this year.
“The allowance will be used to rent houses during [the lawmakers’] five-year tenure,” he said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
