The streets of Jakarta were quiet after more than a week of sometimes violent protests, as the country celebrated a holiday marking the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.
Crowds, led by students, workers and rights groups, took to the streets last week to protest against MPs’ housing allowances.
Unrest spread across the country after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcyclist at one rally.
On Thursday, student groups met Cabinet ministers to press their complaints over lawmakers’ perks and police tactics used against demonstrators.
Student representatives also met with some parliamentarians earlier in the week, but have so far not been successful in their demands for a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto.
Rights groups say 10 people have died and more than 1,000 have been injured in clashes with security forces and other unrest.
Authorities have detained more than 3,000 people in a nationwide crackdown, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said. — Reuters
