Indonesia โฃProtests Intensify,Sparking Clashes and Raising Concerns Over Missing Persons
Jakarta,Indonesia – Demonstrations across Indonesia have escalated,marked by violent clashes between protesters and police,resulting in at least eight deaths and a growing number of โฃreported disappearances. The unrest,โ echoing the student-led โคmovement that toppled authoritarian President suharto in 1998, stems from public angerโ over perceived parliamentary privilege and has been fueled by โrecent incidents of police violence.Protests have eruptedโ in multiple cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, Palembang, โBanjarmasin, Yogyakarta, Makassar, and gorontalo. โIn Bandung, protesters targeted the provincial parliamentโ building with โขpetrol bombs, prompting a response of tear gas from police. Similar scenes unfolded in Gorontalo, where police deployed โtear gas andโค water cannons against demonstrators.
Concerns are mounting over the fateโค of missing โindividuals. The Commission on Missing Persons and Victims ofโ Violence (KontraS) reported receiving 23 missing persons reports,with 20 remaining unaccounted for as of yesterday. These disappearances haveโ been โฃreported in Bandung, โDepok, and various districts of Greater Jakarta, as well as oneโ unknown location.
Police have arrested 1,240 peopel in Jakarta since August 25, according toโ state news agencyโ Antara. The national Police have yet to respondโข to requests for comment from AFP.
While larger protests were anticipated outside Congress today, the number of demonstrators has decreased following โขa military presence in the capital.
The current wave of โขprotests builds on historical discontent, recalling the โ1998 student uprising that led to Suharto’s resignation. The Islamic Universityโค in Bandung’s student โgroup has accused security forces of attempting to suppress dissent,noting that police “rarelyโฃ attacked” theโข campus with tear gas. The death of โa young motorcycle deliveryman at the hands of policeโ has furtherโค inflamed tensions.