Clashes Erupt in Protests against New Indonesian Jobs Law
The "omnibus" jobs creation bill, passed into law on Monday, has seen thousands of people across the world\'s fourth-most populous nation take to the streets in protest against legislation of the bill.
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REUTERS/AP
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AP PHOTO/BINSAR BAKKARA
Protesters hurl debris at police during a rally against a controversial bill on job creation in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Thousands of enraged students and workers staged rallies across Indonesia on Thursday in opposition to the new law they say will cripple labor rights and harm the environment.
JAKARTA, Oct 8 -- Police and demonstrators clashed in the Indonesian capital on Thursday on the third day of protests and labour strikes against a polarising new jobs law passed in Southeast Asia\'s largest economy earlier this week.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the presidential palace in central Jakarta, shouting and throwing stones. Police fired tear gas and water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowd, Reuters witnesses said.
Similar clashes occurred in large cities all over the country, including Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, Manado and Bandung, the capital of West Java province, where police arrested 209 people during two days of violent protests.
Organizers have called for a three-day national strike starting Tuesday demanding that the government revoke the legislation.
The "omnibus" jobs creation bill, passed into law on Monday, has seen thousands of people across the world\'s fourth-most populous nation take to the streets in protest against legislation they say undermines labour rights and weakens environmental protections.
AP PHOTO/TATAN SYUFLANA
Police push back protesters during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Thousands of enraged students and workers staged rallies across Indonesia on Thursday in opposition to a new law they say will cripple labor rights and harm the environment.
"We ask that the law be repealed immediately," Maulana Syarif, 45, who has worked at Astra Honda motors for 25 years, told Reuters in Jakarta.
"This is our struggle for our children and grandchildren, and our future generations... If it\'s like this our well-being will decrease, and we will lack job certainty."
800 people detained
In the past two days, 800 people have been detained in the capital, Jakarta police spokesperson Yusri Yunus told Reuters.
At least two students that joined the demonstrations have been hospitalised with head injuries, and six police officers injured.
"I feel a responsibility to the Indonesian people," said another demonstrator, IT student Arawinda Kartika, as she marched toward the palace. "I feel sorry for labourers working day and night without sufficient wages or power."
On Thursday, protests occurred in almost a dozen cities across the country. Television channels showed demonstrations, including in remote areas such as North Maluku, where people carried coffins and held mock funerals to mark the "death" of parliament.
Black smoke rose across the capital on Thursday afternoon as protesters burned public transport facilities and damaged police posts, and low-level clashes between police and demonstrators continued. The operator of Jakarta\'s MRT rail network said underground stations had been closed.
AP PHOTO/ACHMAD IBRAHIM
A sound truck carrying protesters passes a burning metro station during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Thousands of enraged students and workers staged rallies across Indonesia on Thursday in opposition to a new law they say will cripple labor rights and harm the environment.
Police in Jakarta also blocked streets leading to Parliament, preventing labor groups from holding a mass rally there, and detained at least 200 high school students who attempted to reach the compound, Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus said.
“They have been provoked by invitations on social media to create a riot in Jakarta,” Yunus said.
The government of President Joko Widodo has championed the flagship legislation as key to boosting Indonesia\'s ailing economy by streamlining regulations, cutting red tape and attracting more foreign direct investment. President Joko Widodo is visiting Central Kalimantan province and was not in the palace.
Bahlil Lahadalia, the head of Indonesia\'s Investment Coordinating Board, appealed to young people to trust the government\'s intent for the law, which is to create jobs.
"Please be assured this law is to create jobs for the unemployed Indonesian people," he said.
Surge in coronavirus feared
Fears grew of a surge in coronavirus cases from the protests, which are being held as infection rates are rising in many areas. Indonesia\'s confirmed deaths rose Thursday to 11,580, the highest number in Southeast Asia.
National COVID-19 task force spokesperson Wiku Adisasmito expressed concern about “potential spreaders” in the crowds of protesters across the country, especially in Jakarta, the center of Indonesia’s outbreak.
AFP/BAY ISMOYO
A fire at a bus station is seen during clashes between activists and police on the last day of a three-day nationwide strike against a controversial new law which critics fear will favour investors at the expense of labour rights and the environment, in Jakarta on October 8, 2020.
“We remind you that we are still in a pandemic condition, there is a public health emergency,” he said as images showed demonstrators in close proximity, many without masks and ignoring social distancing.
The government reported Thursday that the total number of confirmed cases nationwide has risen to 320,564, including 11,580 deaths. Cases in Jakarta alone stood at 83,372 with 1,834 deaths.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is eagerly courting foreign investors as key drivers of economic growth in a nation where nearly half the population of 270 million is younger than 30.
