Indonesia’s national turmoil puts its president in the test

It is a wave of violent protests that swept Indonesia and left seven deadly people as a major test for Indonesian President Prabu Subanto.

The clashes spread between the riot police and the demonstrators who started the Roma who started in the capital last week beyond Jakarta.

The angry demonstrators in many cities set fire to the regional parliament buildings, police headquarters and damaged infrastructure in the turmoil that included looting and burning vehicles.

On Sunday, Subianto ordered the security forces to take fixed measures against the protests.

“There are signs of illegal acts, in order to lead to treason and terrorism,” he said. “For the police and the army, they were ordered to take measures as much as possible against the destruction of public facilities, and looted in the homes of individuals and economic centers, according to the laws.”

Subianto has canceled a high -level trip to China to attend the victory day in Beijing next Wednesday, noting the escalating protests throughout the country.

Here is what to know about the protests:

The cause of the disturbances

Public anger appeared all over the world in the world after reports that all 580 representatives are receiving a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupees ($ 4,179 from CDN), as well as their salaries. The allowance, which was presented last year, is approximately 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta.

Critics argue that this feature is excessive and not sensitive at a time when most people wrestle with a high cost of living, taxes and high unemployment.

The number of deaths and injuries

Protests grew wider and more violent after the death of 21 -year -old horseback driver Aftan Kurniawan.

It seems that a video clip on social media, which appears to appear to be his death during a gathering in Jakarta on Thursday, shocked the nation and stimulated a cry against the security forces.

According to what was reported, Kurniawan was completing an order to hand over food when he fell into a clash.

Witnesses told local television that an armored vehicle from the Indonesian National Police Mobile Brigade has suddenly rushed through a crowd of demonstrators and hit Kurniawan, causing it to fall. Instead of stopping, the car ran over it.

The angry mobs later on Friday set fire to a local parliamentary building in Makasar, Sulawesi Island, besieging several people in the fire. Three people died and five others were hospitalized.

In separate riots in the city, the man who was believed to be an agent of the disguised police when a passenger was beaten to death by mob.

The death toll rose to the seventh after the authorities in Yogiakarta said that a university student was killed in Fridays between the demonstrators and the riot police.

Health officials in the individual city of Java in the center of Java confirmed that a 60 -year -old Bedikap driver suffering from acute asthma was found unconscious after he was subjected to tear gas on Sunday. The driver died while treating hospital.

Jakarta’s health office said 469 people were injured in violent protests, including 97, who were transferred to the hospital. Among them, 43 victims have been treated at the Petragkara Police Hospital since the clashes began.

On Monday, the President visited 14 officers and three civilians who are still receiving a hospital treatment, including a woman who had a thigh fracture after rioters seized her motorcycle while she was on her way to the market.

Subianto blames “rioters, not demonstrators”

After the visit, Subianto said that violence was nourished by “rioters, not demonstrators”, and accused the groups of trying to destabilize the nation.

“Their intention is not to express its aspirations, but to cause chaos, disrupt the lives of people and sabotage national development,” said Subanto.

He pledged that he “will not back down” in the face of rioters responsible for violent disturbances throughout the country of the archipelago, which is more than 280 million people.

The cost of damage

The authorities detained 1,240 rioters after five days of protests in Jakarta. The governor of Jakarta Pramono Anung said the disturbances caused losses of up to 55 billion rupees (4.6 million Canadian dollars), as rioters burned buses and metro stations and was damaged by another infrastructure.

The escalation of violence in Indonesia has pushed Tiktok to its voluntary suspension in the living advantage, noting to maintain the platform safe and civil space.

Foreign embassies and consulates, including Canada, the United States, Australia, France and Southeast Asia, issued a warning to travel and advised its citizens in Indonesia to avoid the areas of demonstrations or large public gatherings.

Government concessions

Subianto told a televised press conference in Jakarta that the government will reduce the privileges and privileges of the legislators, including the controversial housing allowance, and the suspension of foreign trips to members of Parliament.

It was a rare concession in response to public anger.

Subanto also said that the police were investigating seven officers associated with the accident in which Corinuan, a horseback driver. He has issued instructions until the investigation is fast and transparent, to be conducted in a way that the public can monitor.

It also guarantees his administration to support the Corinuan family. The former general also called on the public to express their aspirations in a peaceful and constructive manner, and promised their voices.

Economic expectations

Analysts believe that violent gatherings are the culmination of general anger over economic difficulties, as well as the lack of sensitivity of public employees and political frustration.

In his campaign for the president, Subianto promised to raise economic growth to eight percent within five years and make the largest economy in Southeast Asia attractive to investments.

However, observers refused to pledge that he was very ambitious, as the 19 -percent definitions followed by the Trump administration add to the Indonesian goods to uncertainty.

The World Bank estimates that the Indonesian economy will grow by 4.8 percent until 2027, much lower than Subianto.