ASEANEWS HEADLINE- POLITICS | INDONESIA: Violent crackdown on protests turns deadly
Ternate Police arrest a university student during a protest in front of the Ternate Legislative Council (DPRD) building on Sept. 1 in North Maluku. Police dispersed protestors after a protest against House of Representatives members’ lavish allowances and the killing of a ride-hailing driver by a police vehicle. (Antara/Andri Saputra)
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Indonesia Protest LIVE: Students Return to Streets After Deadly Riots | Protests Rage Against Govt
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Hundreds of students gathered in major Indonesian cities on Monday (September 1), defying fears of a crackdown on protests after deadly riots on 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 of political party members’ homes after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver.
On Sunday (August 31), Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto 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 in the city of Makassar, the site of the weekend’s worst violence, in which at least four people were killed in arson and mob violence.
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At least 10 people died while 20 are missing and 500 injured, during and after nationwide protests that rocked Indonesia over the weekend, according to various reports from civic organizations and official institutions.
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C riticism has been mounting over the excessive use of force by security officers in their handling of nationwide protests against lawmakers’ conduct and lavish allowance, following reports of violence and forceful arrests.
Reports flooded social media on Monday night that police and military officers fired tear gas into protesters near the Bandung Islamic University (Unisba) and Pasundan University (Unpas) in West Java’s provincial capital of Bandung, where some protesting students sought shelter following a rally earlier in the day.
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During a press briefing on Tuesday, Unisba student executive body (BEM) called the incident “a brutal attack” against the campus, which was designated as a safe zone for protesters.
But West Java Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hendra Rochmawan claimed on Tuesday that authorities had fired tear gas to disperse the “anarchist” crowds who had blocked roads in the area and attacked police vehicles, but denied targeting the university directly, claiming officers launched tear gas canisters about 200 meters from campus grounds.
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Police fire tear gas during a protest in Jakarta on Friday. Photo: EPA
The Unisba incident followed a rally in front of the West Java Legislative Council (DPRD) building in Bandung earlier on Monday.
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Local media reported the protest started at around 2 p.m., but three hours later, some people started throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails towards the police, prompting police to fire tear gas and deploy water cannons to break up the crowd.
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