(Adnkronos) – Thousands of Indonesians demonstrated across the country, as the army was deployed in the capital, following the deaths of six people during nationwide protests against privileges for parliamentarians, which degenerated into violent anger against the police. At least 300 protesters gathered this afternoon in front of parliament in Jakarta, under the watchful eye of the military, while thousands demonstrated in Palembang, on the island of Sumatra, and hundreds gathered in Banjarmasin, in Borneo, and in Yogyakarta, on the main island of Java.
The protests began last week over new allowances for MPs, almost 10 times the Jakarta minimum wage, and forced President Prabowo Subianto and parliamentary leaders to backtrack on the measures. The demonstrations initially began peacefully, then exploded into violence against the country’s elite paramilitary police unit after a video showed one of its squads running over Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old delivery man, late Thursday evening. Since then, protests have spread from the capital to other major cities, turning into the worst unrest since Prabowo came to power.
Today, police set up roadblocks throughout the capital, while officers and soldiers carried out patrols throughout the city and deployed snipers in key locations, while the usually congested streets were quieter than usual. Hundreds of soldiers were camped at the city’s national monument and some were stationed outside the presidential palace. At least one group, the Indonesian Women’s Alliance, announced that it had canceled its planned protest due to the tightening of security last night, when the capital’s police forces paraded a convoy of armored vehicles and motorcycles outside parliament, in a show of force to deter protesters; schools and universities in Jakarta have moved classes online at least until Tuesday, and city-based public officials have been asked to work from home.
