JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesian students and civil society groups called off protests in Jakarta on Monday after a week of escalating anger over lawmakers’ pay and the police response, citing fears of heightened security measures after deadly riots across the country on the weekend.
The protests began a week ago, and have spread nationwide, escalating in size and intensity after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver on Thursday night. Eight people have died in the protests, chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Monday.
On Sunday, President Prabowo Subianto said political parties had agreed to cut lawmakers’ benefits, in an attempt to calm the protests, and also ordered the military and police to act against rioters and looters after homes of political party members and state buildings were ransacked or set ablaze.
The Alliance of Indonesian Women, a coalition of women-led civil society groups, said it had delayed planned protests at the parliament to avoid any crackdown by authorities.
“The delay is done to avoid increased violent escalation by authorities … the delay takes place until the situations calm down,” the group said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
Student groups also delayed a protest on Monday, with one umbrella group saying the decision was “due to very impossible conditions”.
Student groups in the West Java town of Purwakarta and the city of Yogyakarta planned demonstrations on Monday, they said on their respective Instagram accounts, although Reuters could not immediately confirm whether they will take place.
Social media posts from some groups warned of fake protest calls, and urged people to be cautious.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati confirmed in an Instagram post that she was a victim of the looters. She called on people not to loot, and apologised for the government’s shortcomings.
The protests and violence have unsettled financial markets, with the stock market falling more than 3% in opening trades on Monday.
Airlangga said the economy was fundamentally solid and would get a boost from a planned incentive package.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Ananda Teresia; Editing by John Mair)
