Jakarta — Indonesian student and civil society groups have delayed plans for fresh protests in the capital after security forces mounted a sweeping show of strength across the city.
On Monday, checkpoints appeared on major roads in Jakarta. Police patrols were stepped up, and convoys of armoured cars rolled towards Parliament in a warning to would-be demonstrators.
The response followed a week of unrest triggered by public anger over lawmakers’ pay. At least eight people have died, according to the government, in clashes that spread from Jakarta to cities across the archipelago.
“The delay is done to avoid increased violent escalation by authorities,” said the Alliance of Indonesian Women in a statement on Instagram, announcing the suspension of its protest plans. Student groups also pulled back, describing the conditions as “impossible” for safe demonstrations.
Even so, reports from student networks in West Java and Yogyakarta suggested rallies might still go ahead there. Whether they would proceed remained uncertain.
The unrest has shaken President Prabowo Subianto’s government. On Sunday, he pledged to cut lawmakers’ benefits, a concession to protesters’ demands. But he also ordered the police and military to act decisively against “rioters and looters” after several politicians’ homes and public buildings were attacked.
Airlangga Hartarto, the coordinating minister for economic affairs, confirmed the death toll at eight. Among them was a student from Amikom Yogyakarta University. The exact circumstances of his death are still unclear.
In Makassar, three people were killed after protesters set fire to a council building. Another man was beaten to death after being suspected of working as an intelligence officer, local officials said.
The violence has already forced the president to cancel a planned trip to China for a military parade. His defence minister, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, warned over the weekend that authorities would take “firm action” if further unrest broke out.
The crisis has also spilled online. TikTok, which has more than 100 million users in Indonesia, temporarily disabled its live-streaming feature “for a few days” after the protests intensified.
For now, Jakarta’s streets remain tense but quiet. The heavy presence of security forces appears to have bought the government a pause — though not an end — to the anger on the streets.
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