Thousands of Indonesians protested nationwide amid tight security yesterday to reject the government’s plan to hike the subsidized fuel price in line with rising global oil prices.
About 300 protesters gathered outside parliament house in the capital, Jakarta, carrying banners reading “Fuel hike will put people in misery” and others asking the government to step down.
Protesters also gathered in other major cities, including Medan on Sumatra island, where about 6,000 people turned out, and Surabaya in eastern Java where about 3,000 protesters gathered, correspondents reported.
Photo: AFP
More than 20,000 police and soldiers were deployed to secure key locations in Jakarta, where riots and unrest partly triggered by a government fuel price rise brought down former Indonesian president Suharto in 1998.
“We deployed 14,000 police today and 8,000 soldiers in several locations in Jakarta where the protesters will gather, such as at parliament and outside the presidential palace,” Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto said.
At the parliament, about 100 police with batons and riot shields struggled to control protesters, mainly students and labor union members, as they pried open an iron gate to the building.
Two armored vehicles, a water cannon and a fire truck were stationed outside the building on standby.
Indonesia’s parliament is expected to decide on the hike this week, proposing to raise the price of subsidized fuel from 4,500 rupiah (US$0.49) a liter to 6,000 rupiah for private vehicles by Sunday.
The proposal has been met with widespread opposition both by members of parliament and the public, who fear accelerating inflation.
Rikwanto said security personnel in Jakarta were not armed with guns, following the wounding of a protester who was struck with rubber bullets in Medan, as police dispersed thousands of protesters throwing stones.
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