Call for change: University students protesting for police reform in front of the main entrance of the parliament complex in Jakarta. — AFP
Thousands rallied across the country as the military was deployed in Jakarta after six people were killed in nationwide protests over lavish perks for lawmakers that escalated into violent anger against the police.
At least 300 protesters gathered outside the nation’s parliament in Jakarta yesterday afternoon as dozens of soldiers watched.
Thousands more rallied in Palembang on Sumatra and hundreds gathered in Banjarmasin on Kalimantan and Yogyakarta on the main island of Java, according to AFP journalists.
“Our main goal is to reform the parliament. We hope the parliament will come out and meet us. We want to talk to them directly, they are our representatives,” said protester and university student Nafta Keisya Kemalia, 20.
“Do they want to wait until we have a martial law?”
The deadly protests, which began last week over MP housing allowances nearly 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta, have forced President Prabowo Subianto and parliament leaders to make a U-turn over the measures.
Demonstrations began peacefully, but turned violent against the nation’s elite paramilitary police unit after footage showed one of its teams running over 21-year-old delivery driver Affan Kurniawan late on Thursday.
Police set up checkpoints across the capital yesterday, while officers and the military conducted city-wide patrols and deployed snipers in key locations, while the usually traffic-clogged streets were quieter than usual.
Hundreds of soldiers were camped at the city’s national monument and some were stationed outside the presidential palace.
At least one group, the Alliance of Indonesian Women, said late Sunday it had cancelled its planned protest because of heightened security.
The capital’s police force paraded a convoy of armoured cars and motorbikes outside parliament late Sunday, in a show of force to warn off protesters.
Schools and universities in Jakarta were holding classes online until at least today, and civil servants based in the city were asked to work from home.
Experts said Prabowo’s U-turn in a speech on Sunday and parliament’s gesture to revoke some lawmaker perks may not be enough to dispel the unrest.
“The Indonesian government is a mess. The Cabinet and parliament will not listen to the people’s pleas,” said 60-year-old snack seller Suwardi.
“We have always been lied to. That’s why people are always angry. Because they never met our demands.”
Seven officers were detained for investigation over Affan’s death. Yesterday, Agus Wijayanto, head of the accountability bureau at the National Police, told reporters an investigation had found criminal acts committed by two officers – the driver of the van and the officer next to him.
They “could be dishonourably discharged”, said Agus, adding their ethics trial would take place tomorrow. — AFP
