JAKARTA — Lots of of girls carrying pink and wielding broomsticks marched to parliament in Indonesia’s capital on Wednesday to protest in opposition to police abuses and wasteful authorities spending.
Protests in Jakarta and different key cities have stretched into their second week, fuelled by anger over value of dwelling points and lavish perks for MPs.
They turned violent after younger bike taxi driver Affan Kurniawan was killed when he was run over by a police car.
As protests intensified, President Prabowo Subianto mentioned he would cancel a visit to Beijing to attend China’s large navy parade, however he was seen posing for a gaggle picture on Wednesday, alongside Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier than his China journey, Prabowo mentioned over the weekend that he would roll again perks for lawmakers – one of many core complaints of the protesters.
Throughout Wednesday’s rally, pink-clad feminine protesters from the Indonesian Ladies’s Alliance (IWA) mentioned the broomsticks symbolised their need to “sweep away the filth of the state, militarism and police repression”.
The protesters additionally waved indicators with the phrases “reform the police”.
“Protests aren’t crimes, however fairly democratic rights inherent in each citizen,” one of many protesters, Mutiara Ika, instructed BBC Indonesia.
The IWA is a political group comprised of 90 ladies’s organisations and actions, in addition to numerous civil society teams together with labor unions, human rights organisations and indigenous communities.
The ladies’s motion has a historical past of standing as much as regimes in Indonesia, enjoying a vital position in previous waves of protest. Much like the present demonstrations, ladies took a stand in opposition to Suharto’s authoritarian rule main as much as the 1998 reform motion.
The IWA says their selection of the color pink symbolises bravery.
Different protesters have opted for inexperienced – the color of Affan’s rideshare firm uniform – in a show of solidarity.
On-line, persons are calling the colors “hero inexperienced” and “courageous pink”, and plenty of are customising their social media profile footage with filters in these shades.
The United Nations’ human rights workplace has known as for “immediate, thorough, and clear investigations” on allegations of human rights violations in Jakarta’s dealing with of the protests.
“The state should instantly meet all of the calls for of the individuals through the demonstrations earlier than additional casualties happen,” mentioned Amnesty Worldwide Indonesia Govt Director Usman Hamid.
A minimum of 10 individuals died through the wave of demonstrations on the finish of August – some allegedly because of police violence – whereas a minimum of 1,042 individuals have been rushed to hospitals throughout the archipelago, knowledge from the Indonesian Authorized Assist Basis says.
The Chairperson of the Nationwide Human Rights Fee, Anis Hidayah, mentioned the present state of affairs was worrying, particularly as a result of violence perpetrated by the authorities that continued all through the demonstrations.
“These actions are the results of a really restricted area for dialogue. When individuals need to specific their issues and difficulties, the area appears to be accessible however not simply accessible,” he mentioned at a press convention in Jakarta on Tuesday.
In an try to quell the nationwide protests, President Prabowo introduced on Sunday that a number of state-funded perks given to politicians can be reined in, together with the dimensions of some allowances.
However whereas the transfer was welcomed by protesters, some recommend it does not go far sufficient.
“It’s not solely about one difficulty, however about long-standing considerations with inequality, governance and accountability,” Herianto, a former central co-ordinator for the All-Indonesian College students’ Union, instructed the BBC.
“Symbolic adjustments are vital, however individuals anticipate deeper reforms, significantly in areas that have an effect on odd residents similar to agricultural coverage, schooling and honest financial alternatives,” he added.
“The final word objective is to push for a extra accountable, clear, and people-centred governance.” – BBC
