Indonesian authorities ramped up security yesterday after six people were killed in unrest over lavish perks for lawmakers that escalated into violent anger against the nation’s police force.
The deadly protests, which began last week over lawmakers’ housing allowances nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the capital, Jakarta, have forced Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto 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 last week.
Photo: Reuters
Protests have since spread from Jakarta to other major cities, in the worst unrest since Prabowo took power, with more rallies planned yesterday across Indonesia’s vast archipelago.
Police set up checkpoints across the capital, while officers and the military conducted patrols and deployed snipers in key locations.
Demonstrators were expected to gather outside parliament and at the national police headquarters, but at least one group, the Alliance of Indonesian Women, late on Sunday said that it had canceled its planned protest because of heightened security.
The capital’s police force paraded a convoy of armored cars and motorbikes outside parliament late on Sunday, in a show of force as they attempted 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 of the lawmakers’ perks might 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,” 60-year-old snack seller Suwardi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said near parliament. “We have always been lied to. That’s why people are always angry, because they never met our demands.”
Deep-rooted anger against the police drove protests on Friday last week after footage of the van hitting Affan went viral. Seven officers were detained for investigation.
Agus Wijayanto, head of the accountability bureau at the National Police, told reporters yesterday that an investigation had found criminal acts committed by two officers — the driver of the van and the officer next to him.
They “could be dishonorably discharged,” said Agus, adding their ethics trial would take place tomorrow.
Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin on Sunday said that the security forces would take “firm action” against “rioters and looters,” after the finance minister’s house was pillaged.
Several lawmakers have reportedly had their houses ransacked.
As well as Jakarta, there have also been protests in cities including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya in Java, and Medan in North Sumatra Province.
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