JAKARTA (Reuters) -Tensions have risen in Indonesia’s capital following a protest call by students at Jakarta’s police headquarters on Friday in response to the death of a motorcycle ride-sharing driver hit by a police vehicle.
The driver was hit at the site of violent clashes on Thursday near the parliament as police were trying to disperse demonstrators protesting against a number of issues including lawmakers’ pay and education funding.
The protest call for Friday afternoon in the capital of Southeast Asia’s largest economy prompted a number of schools to allow students to leave early and banks and businesses asking employees to work from home. The military has been deployed in some areas, visuals broadcast by local media showed.
Muzammil Ihsan, head of Indonesia’s largest student union, told Reuters that students will protest against police violence on Friday afternoon, and he expected other student groups to attend.
President Prabowo Subianto, in a specially recorded video message, called for calm, expressed condolences for the death of the driver, Affan Kurniawan, and ordered a thorough probe of the incident.
“I am shocked and disappointed by the excessive actions of the officers,” Prabowo said, adding, “I have ordered a thorough and transparent investigation…and officers involved must be held accountable.”
The protest call remains in place despite the assurance of the probe by the president. The site of the gathering is located in Jakarta’s business district, which is home to a number of major banks and businesses.
‘DEEPEST APOLOGIES’
As Thursday’s protest persisted into the night, local media reported that riot police fired tear gas and used water cannon to try to disperse people.
The capital’s police chief, Asep Edi Suheri, said that during the clashes an armoured police vehicle hit and killed Kurniawan, who worked for ride sharing services Gojek and Grab.
A motorcycle drivers’ association said Kurniawan was not involved in the protests.
“As police chief and on behalf of the entire unit, I would like to express my deepest apologies and condolences,” he said in a press conference late on Thursday.
The seven crew of the armoured vehicle have been arrested and an investigation is underway, Abdul Karim, head of the professional and security division of the Indonesian police, told the news conference.
Following the death, a group led by motorcycle drivers protested in front of the riot police’s headquarters on Thursday night, local media reported. Kompas TV reported on Friday that military officers were sent to the building to calm dozens of protesting drivers.
Kurniawan’s funeral was attended by hundreds of fellow ride-sharing motorcycle drivers, who escorted his body to the burial site in a convoy of two-wheelers through the centre of Jakarta.
“We are deeply disappointed, especially with the security officials and national police chief,” Ari Potret, a motorcycle driver who attended Kurniawan’s funeral told Reuters. “This is barbaric,” he added.
Jakarta Legal Aid, in a post on Instagram, urged the government and police to release 600 people who had been arrested during the demonstrations.
Following the unrest, the rupiah dropped nearly 1% on Friday to its weakest level since August 1 before regaining some of the losses. The stock index fell as much as 2% to reach its lowest point since August 12. Trading has been halted for a scheduled midday break.
“Last night there was an incident where police rammed into an online motorcycle taxi driver…this caused the rupiah and the stock price index to heat up,” Ibrahim Assuaibi, an analyst from futures brokerage firm PT Traze Andalan, said.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Stanley Widianto and Stefanno Sulaiman; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by John Mair)
