20 people missing after deadly Indonesia protests
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At least six people have been killed since protests rocked Indonesia last week over lavish perks for lawmakers.
PHOTO: AFP
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JAKARTA - At least 20 people were missing in the wake of violent protests sparked in Indonesia over lavish perks for lawmakers that have also turned to anger against the police, a rights group said Sept 2.
At least six people have been killed since protests rocked South-east Asia’s biggest economy last week, intensified by the circulation of footage showing a paramilitary police unit killing a young delivery driver.
“As of Sept 1, there were 23 reports of missing persons. After the search and verification process, 20 missing persons remain unfound,” the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) said in a statement.
The group said the 20 were reported missing in the cities of Bandung and Depok on Java island, and the administrative cities of Central Jakarta, East Jakarta and North Jakarta that make up the wider capital city.
One incident took place in an “unknown location”, it said.
The National Police did not immediately respond to an AFP comment request.
Police have arrested 1,240 people in protests in Jakarta since Aug 25, the city’s Metropolitan Police Inspector General Asep Edi Suheri told reporters on Sept 1, state news agency Antara reported.
The unrest emerged in cities across the country, forcing President Prabowo Subianto into a U-turn on lawmaker perks.
They were the worst protests since the ex-general took power in 2024.
More protests were expected on Sept 2 at the Parliament in Jakarta by a coalition of women’s groups, who a day earlier cancelled their protest.
The United Nations called on Sept 1 for an investigation into alleged use of disproportionate force in the protests.
“We are following closely the spate of violence in Indonesia in the context of nationwide protests over parliamentary allowances, austerity measures, and alleged use of unnecessary or disproportionate force by security forces,” said UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani. AFP
Clashes near university
The military was deployed across capital Jakarta on Sept 1 as hundreds gathered again outside parliament and clashes were reported in several other cities.
Mr Prabowo criticised protesters as he paid a visit to injured police at a hospital and said rallies should end by sundown.
In Bandung, protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at a provincial council building, before police overnight fired tear gas at “suspected... anarchists” who blocked a road.
Officers clashed with protesters who police accused of trying to draw them into a student campus at the Bandung Islamic University and “instigate conflict”, Mr Hendra Rochman, West Java police spokesman said in a statement on Sept 2.
On social media some users accused police of firing tear gas and rubber bullets into the campus and storming it. “Officers maintained a distance of approximately 200m from the campus and no shots were directed at the campus,” said Mr Hendra.
The university in a press conference denied its students instigated any unrest.
Thousands more rallied in Palembang on Sumatra island and hundreds gathered separately in Banjarmasin on Borneo island, Yogyakarta on Java, and Makassar on Sulawesi.
In Gorontalo city on Sulawesi island protesters clashed with police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.
In anticipation of further unrest, TikTok on Aug 30 suspended its live feature for “a few days” in Indonesia, where it has more than 100 million users. AFP
