Indonesian students have announced plans to stage a protest at Jakarta’s police headquarters on Friday after a motorcycle rider was killed when struck by a police vehicle during clashes following a demonstration outside parliament.
Muzammil Ihsan, head of Indonesia’s largest student union, told Reuters that students would rally against police violence on Friday afternoon, with other student groups expected to join.
On Thursday, demonstrators protested issues including lawmakers’ pay, education funding, and the government’s school meals programme. The protest continued into the night, prompting riot police to fire tear gas and use water cannons to disperse crowds, according to local media reports.
Jakarta’s police chief, Asep Edi Suheri, said the victim, a rideshare motorcyclist, was hit and killed by an armoured police vehicle. A motorcycle drivers’ association stated the man 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,” Suheri said at a press conference late on Thursday.
Seven crew members of the armoured vehicle have been arrested, and an investigation is ongoing, Abdul Karim, head of the professional and security division of the Indonesian police, told the news conference.
Following the death, motorcycle drivers staged a protest outside the riot police headquarters on Thursday night. Kompas TV reported that military officers were deployed on Friday to calm dozens of protesting drivers.
Jakarta Legal Aid, in an Instagram post, called on the government and police to release 600 people arrested during the demonstrations.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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