Indonesia protests: students defy crackdown after deadly riots in Jakarta
Eight people have died in protests that erupted over lawmakers’ pay, and escalated after a police vehicle killed a motorcycle taxi driver
Hundreds of students gathered in major Indonesian cities on Monday, defying fears of a crackdown on protests after deadly riots over the weekend left eight dead in the worst violence in the Southeast Asian nation in over two decades.
Protests began a week ago against the government’s spending priorities, such as enhanced perks for lawmakers, and escalated into rioting and looting after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver.
The homes of political party members, including the finance minister, were looted, and state buildings ransacked or set ablaze in the biggest challenge to President Prabowo Subianto’s government since he took office nearly a year ago.
On Sunday, Prabowo announced a cut in lawmakers’ perks – a major concession to protesters – but warned that security forces would act firmly to control law and order. The heavy presence of military-led security led some organisers to postpone gatherings in Jakarta.
However, groups of student protesters gathered in Jakarta as well as in Indonesia’s cultural hub of Yogyakarta, and the cities of Bandung and Makassar, the site of the weekend’s worst violence, in which at least four people were killed in arson and mob violence.
The gathering in Makassar, on Sulawesi Island, was close to the local parliamentary building that was set ablaze on Friday.