Politics
Deadly Indonesia protests force U-turn on lawmakers’ pay
- Prabowo orders military and police to act against rioters.
- Student groups demand deeper reforms beyond perks cut.
- Protests led to five deaths, worst violence in years.
Indonesian political parties have agreed to revoke a number of perks and privileges for parliamentarians, President Prabowo Subianto said on Sunday, in a bid to calm anti-government protests that have left five people dead and caused the worst violence in decades in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Protests began on Monday over what demonstrators called excessive pay and housing allowances for parliamentarians. The unrest escalated into riots on Friday after a motorcycle rideshare driver was killed during police action at a protest site.
Homes of political party members and state buildings were ransacked or set ablaze, sparking widespread concern.
Investor sentiment took a hit as the protests led to a steep selloff in Indonesia’s stocks and currency on Friday.
Prabowo, speaking at a news conference at the Presidential Palace and flanked by the leaders of various political parties, said he had ordered the military and police to take stern action against rioters and looters, warning that some of the actions were indicative of “terrorism” and “treason”.
“Leaders in parliament have conveyed that they will revoke a number of parliament policies, including the size of allowances for members of parliament and a moratorium on overseas work trips,” Prabowo said.
“To the police and the military, I have ordered them to take action as firm as possible against the destruction of public facilities, looting at homes of individuals and economic centres, according to the laws,” he added.
The protests represent the most significant challenge to Prabowo’s government, which has faced little political opposition since taking office nearly a year ago.
Prabowo, who cancelled a high profile trip to China due to the unrest, on Sunday met with political parties leaders and key members of his cabinet at the Presidential Palace to discuss the situation.
Many ministers and political leaders arriving at the Palace used civilian number plates instead of special ones given to officials, a witness said, in an apparent precaution against public anger.
The military was deployed to guard the Palace on top of the usual secret service detail. Many key ministers’ homes and government installations were also seen guarded by the military on Sunday.
‘Not enough’
It remains unclear who is behind the rioting and looting that followed the protests, initially organised by student associations. Muzammil Ihsan, head of the All Indonesian Students’ Executives Body, the country’s largest student umbrella group, told Reuters that cutting lawmakers’ perks was “not enough” and said further demonstrations were being “considered”.
“The government must resolve deep-rooted problems. The anger on the streets is not without cause,” Ihsan said.
Tegar Afriansyah, the chairman of a smaller student group, Indonesian Student League for Democracy, which has been protesting since Monday, told Reuters the announcement does not address the root of the problem, which is “political oligarchy and an unequal economic structure.”
He termed Prabowo’s instructions to police and military as “clearly repressive and intimidating.”
Global rights watchdog Amnesty International’s Indonesia chapter in a statement termed Prabowo’s use of terms such as treason and terrorism as “excessive.”
TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, said it had suspended its live feature in Indonesia for a few days.
The death toll rose to five on Sunday, according to the local disaster management agency in Makassar, South Sulawesi province. The agency confirmed that an online motorcycle taxi driver was beaten to death by a mob accusing him of being an intelligence agent. Three others were killed in an arson attack on the local parliament building on Friday.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
Iran’s permanent ambassador to the United Nations has vehemently denounced the fresh and unprovoked Israeli-American war on the Islamic Republic, asserting that the country will continue to act in self-defense until the end of the unlawful aggression.
Amir-Saeid Iravani made the remarks at a UN Security Council meeting on Sunday regarding the joint strikes that were launched against the country earlier on Saturday.
The nation, he stated, was facing armed aggression and a war against international law, which could not be justified by any excuse.
Referring to Iran’s decisive and ongoing retaliatory strikes, under the codename Operation True Promise 4, the envoy said it serves as a legitimate act of self-defense.
The Islamic Republic would continue to exercise its legitimate right to self-defense until the aggression ends, Iravani told the world body.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has so far launched at least five waves of counterstrikes against numerous Israeli and American targets in response to the aggression.
IRGC has pledged to sustain the counterstrikes until the enemies’ “complete defeat,” while noting that the reprisal exceeds by far the proportions of its previous round of retaliations against Tel Aviv’s and Washington’s imposed war on the nation last June.
Addressing the same meeting, Russia’s UN envoy said Iran had been once again “stabbed in the back,” referring to the country’s coming under fresh aggression, while engaging in indirect talks with the United States aimed at resolving standing issues.
Vasily Nebenzya condemned an attack on a school in Iran that took place as part of the renewed aggression, claiming the lives of more than 100 people, calling it a sign of “unjustified aggression” by the Israeli regime and the United States against a UN member state.
He described the atrocities as “unjustifiable” and a “betrayal of diplomacy.”
- PM Modi describes accident as “deeply distressing”.
- Maharashtra CM terms it “extremely unfortunate.”
- Industrial accidents are common in India.
A blast at an explosives factory killed at least 17 people and injured 18 others on Sunday, officials in the western Indian state of Maharashtra said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident was “deeply distressing” and wished a speedy recovery to the survivors.
Maharashtra state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called the incident “extremely unfortunate and tragic” in a post on X.
The accident happened in Nagpur, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) from state capital Mumbai.
“Rescue operations have been accelerated, and so far, 17 people have lost their lives,” Fadnavis said, adding 18 others were injured.
An investigation has been ordered into the incident.
On Saturday, 21 people were killed in an explosion at a firecracker factory in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Industrial accidents are common in India, often due to disregard for safety requirements and lax enforcement.
Last year, a firework factory explosion in western India killed 21 people.
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