Indonesia tightens security after deadly protests

JAKARTA (AFP) : Indonesian authorities ramped up security Monday after six people were killed in unrest over lavish perks for lawmakers that escalated into violent anger against the nation’s police force.

The deadly protests, which began last week over MP housing allowances nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the capital Jakarta, have forced President Prabowo Subianto to make a U-turn over the measures.

Demonstrations began peacefully, but turned violent against the nation’s elite paramilitary police unit after footage showed one of its teams running over 21-year-old delivery driver Affan Kurniawan late Thursday.

Protests have since spread from Jakarta to other major cities, in the worst unrest since Prabowo took power, with more rallies planned Monday across Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

Police set up checkpoints across the capital on Monday, while officers and the military conducted city-wide patrols and deployed snipers in key locations.

Demonstrators were expected to start gathering outside parliament in Jakarta and at the national police headquarters.

The capital’s police force paraded a convoy of armoured cars and motorbikes outside parliament late Sunday, in a show of force as they attempt to warn off protesters.

Schools and universities in Jakarta were holding classes online until at least Tuesday and civil servants based in Jakarta were asked to work from home.

Looting

The crisis prompted Prabowo to cancel a trip to China this week for a military parade commemorating the end of World War II.

The protests are the biggest and most violent of his presidency, a key test less than a year into his rule.

Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin warned Sunday that the security forces would take “firm action” against “rioters and looters”, after the finance minister’s house was pillaged.

Several lawmakers have reportedly had their houses ransacked in recent days.

As well as Jakarta, there have also been protests in cities including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya in Java, and Medan in North Sumatra province.

At least three people were killed after a fire Friday started by protesters at a council building in the eastern city of Makassar.

Another victim died in Makassar on Friday after he was beaten by a mob on suspicion that he was an intelligence officer, local disaster agency official Muhammad Fadli Tahar told AFP.

The Amikom Yogyakarta University confirmed the death of its student Rheza Sendy Pratama in protests, but the circumstances around his death remain unclear.

In anticipation of further unrest, TikTok on Saturday suspended its live feature for “a few days” in Indonesia, where it has more than 100 million users.