Jakarta streets quiet on holiday after more than a week of protests

JAKARTA (Reuters) : The streets of Indonesia’s capital were quiet on Friday morning after more than a week of sometimes violent protests, as the Muslim-majority country celebrated a holiday marking the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Crowds, led by students, workers and rights groups, took to the streets of Jakarta last week to protest against MPs’ housing allowances. Unrest spread across the country after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver at one rally. On Thursday, student groups met cabinet ministers to press their complaints over lawmakers’ perks and police tactics used against demonstrators.

Student representatives also met with some parliamentarians earlier in the week, but have so far not been successful in their demands for a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto. Rights groups say 10 people have died and more than 1,000 have been injured in clashes with security forces and other unrest.

Authorities have detained more than 3,000 people in a nationwide crackdown on the protests, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said.