JAKARTA: Indonesian students and civil society groups called off protests on Monday (Sep 1) after a week of escalating anger over lawmakers’ pay and the police response, citing fears of heightened security measures after deadly riots over the weekend.
The protests began in Jakarta a week ago and have spread nationwide, escalating in size and intensity after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver on Thursday night.
On Sunday, President Prabowo Subianto said political parties had agreed to cut lawmakers’ benefits, in an attempt to calm the protests in which at least five people have died.
He also ordered the military and police to take stern action against rioters and looters after homes of political party members and state buildings were ransacked or set ablaze.
The Alliance of Indonesian Women, a coalition of women-led civil society groups, said it had delayed planned protests at the parliament to avoid any crackdown by authorities.
“The delay is done to avoid increased violent escalation by authorities … the delay takes place until the situations calm down,” the group said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
Student groups also delayed a protest on Monday, with one umbrella group saying the decision was “due to very impossible conditions”.
It is unclear if other groups will stage demonstrations in Jakarta or other cities on Monday, with social media posts from some groups warning of fake protest flyers.
Police set up checkpoints across capital Jakarta on Monday, and a police spokesman told broadcaster Kompas TV that officers were also patrolling the city to “protect” citizens and give a sense of security.
Police had deployed a convoy of armoured cars and motorbikes to parliament late Sunday, in a show of force as they attempt to warn off protesters.
The crisis has forced Prabowo to cancel a planned trip to China this week for a military parade commemorating the end of World War II.
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 on Sunday.
In Yogyakarta, the Amikom Yogyakarta University confirmed the death of its student Rheza Sendy Pratama in protests, but the circumstances around his death remain unclear.
The protests and violence have unsettled financial markets, with the stock market falling more than 3 per cent in opening trades on Monday.
