Indonesia has been rocked by severe protests since last week, with Jakarta seeing escalating unrest each day. Protesters have clashed with security forces, government buildings have been torched, and violent confrontations have left at least seven people dead and hundreds injured, according to media reports. The government has intensified its crackdown, detaining more than a thousand people as the crisis spreads beyond the capital.
The protests started on August 25 when thousands gathered outside parliament to oppose inflated housing allowances for MPs, nearly 10 times Jakarta’s minimum wage. Protesters, many of them students affiliated with the group Gejayan Memanggil, also expressed anger over austerity measures hitting education, healthcare, and public works. They accused the government of favouring corrupt elites and voiced concerns about the growing role of the military in civilian affairs.
However, tensions between the protestors and the government forces escalated dramatically after a 21-year-old delivery driver was fatally struck by a police armoured vehicle during the protests. Video footage of the incident circulated widely on social media, which sparked a nationwide outrage. In the days that followed, protesters torched and looted government buildings and police stations in multiple cities including Jakarta, Bandung, Palembang, Banjarmasin, Yogyakarta, Gorontalo, Solo, and Makassar.
In Makassar, a fire at a council building caused by protesters killed three people, while another man was beaten to death by a mob who mistakenly thought he was an intelligence officer. In Yogyakarta, a student died in clashes with riot police. In Solo, a 60-year-old pedicab driver suffering from acute asthma collapsed after exposure to tear gas and later died in hospital.
At least seven people have died in the unrest, while around 700 to 800 have been injured across Jakarta and other cities. Authorities say more than 1,240 alleged rioters have been detained.
The financial toll is mounting. Jakarta’s governor, Pramono Anung, said rioters set fire to buses, subways, and other public infrastructure, causing losses of up to 55 billion rupiah (around $3.3 million). Violence has also hit private property: finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s house was looted, along with several MPs’ residences. Social media footage showed looters seizing luxury goods and even pets.
President Prabowo Subianto has taken a dual approach of crackdown and concession. He cancelled a planned trip to China to attend a military parade and instead ordered security forces to act firmly and decisively, warning that some of the unrest bore signs of “treason and terrorism". At the same time, he conceded to one of the protesters’ key demands by announcing cuts to MPs’ housing allowances and overseas trips.
Prabowo has also sought to manage public anger over the death of the delivery driver. He said seven officers involved in the armoured vehicle incident had been detained and that a transparent investigation would be carried out under public scrutiny. He promised financial support for the driver’s family.
On Monday, however, he returned to a more defiant tone, visiting a hospital treating injured officers and announcing promotions for 40 police personnel who were wounded during the clashes, Antara reported. He reminded citizens that while there may have been misconduct by individual officers, many others had risked or sacrificed their lives in the violence.
How has the international community reacted to the protests?
The United Nations has called for a thorough probe into allegations of excessive force by security forces. Human Rights Watch criticised the government for framing the protests as acts of treason or terrorism, warning that such a stance was troubling given the country’s history of using excessive force against demonstrators.
Several foreign embassies, including those of the United States, Australia, France, Canada, and neighbouring Southeast Asian nations, have issued travel warnings and urged their citizens in Indonesia to avoid protest areas and large public gatherings.
Indonesia has a history of political unrest. One of the more serious instances of political unrest occurred during the May 1998 riots when the combination of an economic crisis, corruption, and authoritarian rule led to mass protests in Jakarta, Medan, and Surakarta. Over 1,000 people reportedly died, mainly ethnic Chinese Indonesians, and physical damage was upwards of $260 million. Reports of these riots directly led to the downfall of President Suharto.
A related event, the Trisakti shootings on May 12, 1998, in which military units opened fire on large groups of unarmed student protesters, killing four protesters and injuring dozens of others ignited public outrage across the nation.
In May 2019, riots broke out when supporters of Prabowo Subianto rejected the outcome of the presidential election. These riots occurred mainly in Jakarta, notably surrounding Tanah Abang, resulted in at least eight deaths and over 600 serious injuries, and at the time marked the worst political violence Indonesia experienced in over 20 years.
Similarly, the Malari incident of January 1974 began as student protests that turned into student riots against corruption and inequality. Anti-Chinese riots erupted in Jakarta resulting in 11 deaths, over 100 injuries, and large-scale property damage.
Source: Business Standard