More than 300 university students and police in Indonesia’s capital have been treated at hospitals after clashes during protests sparked by a law that critics have said cripples the country’s anti-corruption agency, police said yesterday.
At least 265 students and 39 police officers were treated at several hospitals in Jakarta, with their injuries ranging from minor to serious, Jakarta Police Chief Gatot Eddy Pramono told a news conference.
The protest outside the Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly on Tuesday saw police fire tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of rock-throwing students. The protest was dispersed just before midnight.
Photo: Reuters / Antara Foto / Abriawan Abhe
By yesterday morning, city workers were cleaning up rocks, plastic bottles, banners and other debris from the protest.
Students on Tuesday held similar protests and clashed with police in cities across the country, including Bandung, Yogyakarta, Malang, Palembang and Medan. Several student groups vowed to return to the streets yesterday and to do so until the new law is revoked.
Critics have said the law passed last week in the legislature reduces the authority of the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission, a key body in fighting endemic graft in the country.
The fallout from the new law, which underlines Indonesia’s challenge in changing its graft-ridden image, has threatened the credibility of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who won a second term after campaigning for clean governance.
Activists have said that the revision weakens the powers of one of the most credible public institutions in a country where the police and legislature are perceived as being widely corrupt.
On Tuesday, Widodo met with lawmakers, whose terms finish at the end of this month, to urge them to delay votes on the bills after considering public concerns.
Lawmakers then delayed their votes on the proposed laws in their last plenary session.
Critics have said that a criminal code bill contains articles that infringes on the rights of women, religious minorities, lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people.
The planned revisions prompted Australia to update its travel advice, warning tourists of risks they could face from extramarital or gay sex if the bill is passed.
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