JAKARTA, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Police in the Indonesian capital Jakarta have detained over 300 people for questioning and named dozens of suspects following street protests that had turned into late-night rioting, officials said on Friday.
Demonstrations by various groups started on Thursday morning near parliament amid heavy security on the anniversary of deadly anti-government protests last year, which lasted two weeks and gave an early test to the administration of President Prabowo Subianto.
Thousands of police were deployed in Jakarta ahead of Thursday’s rallies, where demonstrators vented their frustration at various government policies and demanded harsher punishment for corrupt officials.
The rally dispersed Thursday evening, but local media outlets reported individuals in black shirts remained on the streets long after, setting fire to a police post and two motorcycles, closing roads and hurling rocks and sticks at police, who responded with water cannon and tear gas.
A Reuters witness heard several loud bangs near the area of the reported unrest.
Jakarta police have detained 322 people, including 160 people younger than 18 years old, Jakarta police spokesperson Budi Hermanto told a press conference.
“After the majority of the crowd had dispersed, a group of rioters arrived and tried to disrupt public order and security,” Budi said, adding that a number of them were allegedly carrying makeshift weapons.
Budi also said one man was evacuated from the scene after losing consciousness and later died at a hospital.
Police were “gathering facts” regarding the fatality, another official, Iman Imanuddin, said at the same briefing.
Police have named 45 people as suspects for allegedly causing damage to public facilities and conducting acts of violence, Iman added.
Several routes on the commuter rail line in Jakarta were suspended or diverted on Friday while the city’s bus system said its routes near the parliamentary building were impacted by road closures. The affected bus routes have since returned to normal operation, the operator said.
The protest came at a difficult time for Prabowo, a retired general who was elected in 2024 with a huge majority but is battling to restore the confidence of the public, business and investors anxious over the economic impacts of his ambitious, populist programmes.
Prabowo’s approval rating slumped to 38% this month in a poll by investigative news outlet Tempo.
Videos posted early Friday and circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed police using tear gas, some hunkered behind shields.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty)
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