Lawmakers’ allowances spark blaze of protests across Indonesia
JAKARTA—An angry mob set fire to a local parliament building in an Indonesian provincial capital, leaving at least three people dead and five others hospitalized, officials said.
Five days of protests began here in the capital and other parts of Indonesia on Monday, sparked by reports that all 580 lawmakers received a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah ($3,075) in addition to their salaries. The allowance, introduced last year, is almost 10 times the Jakarta minimum wage.
The blaze in Makassar, the capital city of South Sulawesi province, began late Friday. Television reports showed the provincial council building ablaze overnight, causing the area to turn into an eerie orange.
Rescuers retrieved three bodies by Saturday morning, while five people were hospitalized with burns or with broken bones after jumping from the building, said Fadli Tahar, a local disaster official.
Protesters in West Java’s Bandung city also set a regional parliament ablaze on Friday, but no casualties were reported. In Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, protesters stormed the regional police headquarters after destroying fences and torching vehicles. Security forces fired tear gas and used water cannons, but demonstrators fought back with fireworks and wooden clubs.
Calm largely returned to Indonesia’s capital on Saturday as authorities cleaned up burned-out cars, police offices and bus shelters set ablaze by angry protesters.
Driver’s death
Critics had argued the new allowance is not only excessive but also insensitive at a time when most people are grappling with soaring living costs and taxes and rising unemployment.
The protests grew wider and more violent following the death of 21-year-old ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan. A video on social media apparently showing his death during a rally in Jakarta on Thursday shocked the nation and spurred an outcry against security forces.
Kurniawan was reportedly completing a food delivery order when he was caught in the clash. Witnesses told local television the armored car from the National Police’s Mobile Brigade unit suddenly sped through the crowd of demonstrators and hit Kurniawan, causing him to fall. Instead of stopping, the car ran over him.
Clashes between riot police and protesters erupted in multiple cities across Indonesia, including in Medan, Solo, Yogyakarta, Magelang, Malang, Bengkulu, Pekanbaru and Manokwari in easternmost Papua region.
The violent crackdown by police on protesters left about 951 arrested in rallies in Jakarta alone by Thursday, according to the National Commission on Human Rights, or Komnas HAM.
Authorities said about 25 officers were hospitalized with serious injuries after being attacked by protesters in Jakarta. The Komnas HAM believed the number of injured people on the community side is much bigger.
Amnesty International criticized Indonesia’s government Saturday, saying it suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests.
“No one should lose their lives for exercising their right to protest,” said Usman Hamid, the executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia. “The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release anyone detained solely for exercising their rights.”
