Three people died and five were injured in Indonesia after protesters set fire to a regional parliament building, authorities said on Saturday. The demonstrations pose the first major test to President Prabowo Subianto’s government.
The Southeast Asian nation’s disaster management agency, in a statement, did not specify the causes of the deaths from the Friday evening fire in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.
The Antara news agency reported that the deceased victims were allegedly trapped in the burning building. The disaster agency mentioned that two of the injuries resulted from people jumping out of the building.
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Protests began in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta this week over lawmakers’ pay, escalating on Friday after a police armored vehicle hit and killed the driver of a ride-hailing motorbike.
Prabowo, who took office in October last year, visited the home of the driver late on Friday, offering condolences to his parents and vowing to oversee the investigation into his death.
Local media reported isolated looting in Jakarta and damage to several transportation facilities in Jakarta on Friday, as well as demonstrations in the major cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta.
Jakarta’s mass rapid transit railway said trains were not stopping at one station on Saturday near Friday’s protest site, while the Jakarta province-owned Transjakarta bus service said it was unable to serve customers.
There were no immediate signs of protests on Saturday.
A key test
In the capital Jakarta, hundreds massed outside the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade Corp (Brimob) paramilitary police unit they blamed for motorcycle gig driver Affan Kuniawan’s death, throwing firecrackers as police responded with tear gas.
A group of protesters tried to tear down the gates of the unit, notorious for its heavy-handed tactics, and pulled a sign from the building’s facade in chaotic scenes.
Police said they had detained seven officers for questioning in connection with the driver’s death.
The protests were the biggest and most violent of Prabowo Subianto’s presidency, a key test less than a year into his rule that forced him to quickly urge calm and order an investigation.
He has pledged fast, state-driven growth but had already faced protests for widespread government budget cuts to fund his populist policies including a billion-dollar free meal programme.
Protests also spread to other major cities on Friday in Indonesia, including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang, and Surabaya in Java and Medan in North Sumatra province.
(With inputs from AFP)
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