10 Hospitalized as Fuel Protests Turn Violent in Central Jakarta

March 27, 2012

Thousands of Indonesians protested nationwide Tuesday to reject the government’s plan to hike the subsidized fuel price, with sporadic violence breaking out and injuring several people.

In Jakarta, a clash broke out between police and a group of students near the presidential palace, injuring five policemen and “fewer than 10” protesters, Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto told reporters.

Around 500 protesters had pelted rocks, petrol bombs and sticks at police, who then fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd, an AFP photographer saw.

“The group was heading to the presidential palace. We stopped them... but they damaged several public facilities”, said Rikwanto, who like many Indonesians only goes by one name.

He said 35 people were detained for questioning.

Around 3,500 protesters turned out in Jakarta, much fewer than the reportedly 15,000 people the organizers had promised.

Earlier, around 300 protesters gathered outside parliament house in the capital Jakarta, carrying banners reading: “Fuel hike will put people in misery”, and others asking the government to step down.

Around 100 police with batons and riot shields struggled to control protesters, mainly students and labor union members, as they pried open an iron gate to the building.

More than 20,000 police and soldiers were deployed in Jakarta, according to Rikwanto, amid fears of a repeat of violent protests caused in the past by similar plans to hike the fuel. In 1998, riots and unrest partly triggered by a government fuel price rise brought down the Suharto dictatorship.

Protesters also gathered in other major cities, including Medan on Sumatra island where around 6,000 people turned out, and Surabaya in eastern Java where around 3,000 protesters gathered, AFP correspondents saw.

“Fuel hikes will only give additional burden to poor people as it will cause staple food prices to rise,” Amir, a student protester, told AFP in the second largest city of Surabaya. About half of the Indonesian population live on less than two dollars a day.

Violence also broke out in South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar, where around 2,000 people protested in several places including the governor’s office.

Protesters there had thrown rocks at anti-riot police, who then fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, an AFP correspondent saw.

Meanwhile, Indonesian parliament members continued Tuesday debating the government’s proposal. They are expected to vote later in the week to raise the subsidized fuel price by a third, from Rp 4,500 (49 cents) a liter to Rp 6,000 for private vehicles.

The proposal has been met with widespread opposition both by members of parliament and the public, who fear accelerating inflation.

But the government said that without the fuel hike and due to rising global fuel prices, the country’s budget deficit will exceed a three percent cap of the GDP stipulated in law.

Agence France-Presse


(read in the JG)

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 03/28/2012


Currently under fire for their violent and repressive approaches in handling massive rallies across the archipelago on Tuesday, the National Police claimed that they had managed all the rallies “successfully” based on the established laws.

Police officers clashed with protesters in many locations across the archipelago, with police officers reportedly beating protesters who opposed the government’s plan to raise fuel prices, in Makassar and Jakarta, among others.

Police officers were also alleged to have beaten journalists who covered rallies in Gambir, Central Jakarta, as well as stealing memory cards containing news belonging to them.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution was defiant on the legality of the security operations, arguing that all the operations had been in line with police protocols.

“As an overall evaluation of the security operations, we successfully handled [the rallies] even though there were still one or two incidents that could be considered as anarchistic,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said on Wednesday.

“We have used the soft approach in handling the protesters, actually. Officers in the frontline, for example, were instructed not to bring assault rifles – whether loaded with rubber or live bullets,” he said. “They were only armed with shields and truncheons.”

Saud, however, pledged that the police would conduct a full investigation into officers who violated protocol, such as those who assaulted journalists and fired tear gas and water cannon without being ordered to do so.

Meanwhile, political expert Burhanuddin Muhtadi slammed the police’s approach toward the protesters, arguing that police officers who dealt with civilians should not be armed at all.

“In South Korea and Japan, police officers who handle rallies are only equipped with shields, because they only deal with innocent and unarmed civilians,” Burhanudi said on Wednesday, citing that police officers deployed on Tuesday’s rallies were armed with truncheons, tear gas and water cannon.

March 29, 2012

Makassar. Hundreds of students in the South Sulawesi capital attacked police stations and an auto showroom with Molotov cocktails on Wednesday as anti-fuel price hike protests heated up around the country.

Makassar State University students armed with rocks, slingshots and Molotov cocktails attacked a police station and burned down a police post, starting a fire that nearly spread to an Islamic high school before local residents were able to put it out.

Students from STIMIK, a computer school, attacked a Mercedes-Benz and Proton showroom with Molotov cocktails. They said the cars were v symbols of capitalism.

Rappocini district police received assistance from local residents in driving away protesters from Muhammadiyah University who pelted stones at the district police office near their campus. Several officers were injured in the violence.

In Ternate, North Maluku, students occupied Babullah Airport and burned tires on the runway, forcing several airlines to cancel flights.

The students clashed with police officers and soldiers after they refused to leave the airport. Dozens of students and officers were injured in the melee.

“Fifteen of the students involved in the protest have been detained,” said North Maluku Police spokesman Ramli.

About 100 students in Selong, West Nusa Tenggara, clashed with police after the students forced their way into the tightly guarded East Lombok legislative council (DPRD) building. The students said they were members of the Coalition to Restore the People’s Rights to the Motherland (Koptahat).

Police had agreed to allow the students to hold a rally in the DPRD building compound after they promised that there would be no violence.

But the students then demanded a meeting with the council leaders to voice their opinions on the fuel price increase, but only members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Reform Star Party (PBR) were available.

The students said they wanted to convince councilors to sign what they called an integrity pact to reject higher fuel prices.

Dozens of students from different organizations in Riau blocked access to provincial legislative council building as they accused legislators of ignoring their demands.

Polonia International Airport in Medan, a site occupied by student protesters earlier this week, was heavily guarded by security officers on Wednesday.

Two students and 10 other protesters were arrested in Pematangsiantar, the second biggest city in North Sumatra, after protesters clashed with police.


(x the JG)