3 killed in Indonesia as anti-government protests spread across country
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Indonesian protesters set ablaze regional Parliament buildings in three provinces during continuing demonstrations on Aug 30, a day after three people were killed in violence that has presented a major test for President Prabowo Subianto.
Parliamentary buildings in West Nusa Tenggara, Pekalongan city in Central Java and Cirebon city in West Java were set on fire by protesters, local media reported.
Detik.com said the protesters looted Parliament’s office equipment in Cirebon, while police shot tear gas to disperse them in Pekalongan and West Nusa Tenggara.
Reuters could not confirm the media reports, and the authorities were not immediately available for comment.
Anti-government protesters also torched a council building in eastern Indonesia’s Makassar city late on Aug 29, as public rage sparked by the death of a motorcycle taxi driver spreads across Indonesia.
“From last night’s incident, three people died. Two died at the scene, and one died at the hospital. They were trapped in the burning building,” Makassar city council secretary Rahmat Mappatoba told Agence France-Presse.
Online news site inilah.com said the head of the public welfare section of Ujung Tanah district and a member of the public order agency were among those who died. One of them was killed after he jumped out of the burning building from the fourth floor, the site reported.
The protesters set fire to dozens of vehicles parked outside the building with homemade fire bombs, newspaper Kompas reported. The blaze spread to the building while the parliamentary council of Makassar, the biggest city on Sulawesi island, was in session on the third floor.
Among those inside the building at the time were Makassar mayor Munafri Arifuddin, deputy mayor Aliyah Mustika Ilham and regional secretary Andi Zulkifli Nanda.
They were evacuated to a secure room and led to a back door where motorcycles whisked them away.
“This is beyond our prediction. Usually during a demonstration, protesters only throw rocks or burn a tyre in front of the office. They had never stormed into the building or burned it,” said Mr Rahmat.
At least four people were injured in the fire and were being treated at a hospital, he added.
Hundreds of people were seen in videos posted by local media cheering and clapping as fire engulfed the building with few security personnel in sight.
One man was heard shouting: “There are people upstairs.”
In footage verified by AFP, smouldering debris was seen falling from the roof of the building. By Aug 30, the building appeared to be a wreck, with dozens of charred cars around it.
Outrage spreads
What began as outrage over the death of a motorcycle taxi driver
The driver, Mr Affan Kurniawan, has become a symbol of frustration over police impunity.
Protests continued on Aug 30 in different areas of Indonesia’s vast archipelago.
Hundreds of students and ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers protested in front of the police headquarters in Bali.
“Bali is the centre of tourism in Indonesia, and we want to protest here to gain international attention about the legal injustice, corruption and the impunity of police crimes,” protester Narendra Wicaksono told AFP.
Protesters on neighbouring Lombok island stormed a council building in the provincial capital Mataram and set it on fire, despite police attempts to stop them with tear gas.
In Surabaya, hundreds of students rallied outside the East Java police headquarters.
In Jakarta, protesters massed outside the headquarters of the Mobile Brigade Corps, a paramilitary police unit notorious for heavy-handed tactics.
They set off firecrackers and pulled down part of the building’s facade before officers responded with tear gas.
Indonesia’s police and military have vowed a strong response to the protests.
Mr Prabowo ordered “firm measures” against “anarchic acts”, police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said in a televised statement on Aug 30, alongside military commander Agus Subiyanto.
While citizens have the right to expression and assembly, “demonstrations currently taking place in several regions tend to violate” the law, General Listyo said, citing the burning of buildings and public facilities as well as the attacks on police headquarters.
Mr Prabowo, who is less than a year into his presidency, had sought to contain the anger, urging calm, ordering an investigation and visiting Mr Affan’s family.
“I have ordered (the Aug 28) incident to be thoroughly and transparently investigated, and that the officers involved be held accountable,” he said in a statement.
In a message posted on Instagram later on Aug 29, he said the government is “committed to guaranteeing the livelihood” of Mr Affan’s family, posting images with them at their home.
The crisis has underscored the precarious balance the former general faces as he pushes ambitious, state-led growth while weathering discontent over sweeping budget cuts and his flagship free meal programme
