Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Furious at their lawmakers’ profligacy and alleged police brutality, angry women brandishing brooms and holding placards took out a protest rally outside Parliament in Jakarta in the Muslim-majority Indonesia on Wednesday, demanding reform, while their President flew to China to attend a military parade.
Hundreds of women, dressed in pink, joined protests in Indonesia’s capital against lawmakers’ perks and police brutality, waving brooms as a symbol of their calls for reform, the media reported.
They carried signs with slogans such as “reform the police” and “your sweet promises cause diabetes,” as well as the brooms which protest organiser The Alliance of Indonesian Women said symbolised a need to “sweep (away) the state’s dirt … and the repressiveness of security forces.”
Protests involving students, workers and rights groups that began in Jakarta last week have rocked the world’s third-largest democracy, spreading nationwide after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver on Thursday night. Rights groups say 10 people have died in the demonstrations, which sparked some looting and rioting.
President Prabowo Subianto said the military and police would take firm action against violent mobs, and even claimed on Sunday that some of the unrest bore the signs of terrorism and treason.
On Wednesday, he attended a lavish military parade in Beijing after initially cancelling it due to the unrest, with his office saying that signs of normalcy returning in Indonesia were a factor in his decision to travel.
Trying to placate the protesters, three deputy speakers of parliament held a meeting with at least 10 student unions, whose demands included the release of protesters from police detention and an investigation into Prabowo’s accusation about treason.
The student body of University of Indonesia called for an independent party to investigate police violence during the unrest and expressed disappointment over lawmakers’ benefits as ordinary Indonesians experience economic hardship.
Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, deputy parliament speaker and a senior member of Prabowo’s political party, said parliament will evaluate members’ benefits, impose a moratorium on overseas trips and introduce reforms to improve transparency.
Fitch Ratings said the unrest could have negative repercussions for the sovereign credit profile if it dampens growth prospect or leads to increased welfare spending that adds to fiscal slippage risks.
The ratings agency “believes there is a risk that social tensions could linger as the deeper issues are likely to endure, posing political challenges for the president and the ruling coalition, even with its large parliamentary majority”, it said.