The streets of Indonesia’s capital are calm on Friday after more than a week of nationwide protests, some of them violent, as the country marked the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday holiday.
The unrest, driven by students, workers, and rights groups, was initially sparked by outrage over MPs’ housing allowances but escalated after a police vehicle fatally struck a motorcycle taxi driver during a rally in Jakarta.
Demonstrations quickly spread to other regions.
Lawmakers’ perks and police tactics
On Thursday, student groups met cabinet ministers to press complaints about lawmakers’ perks and police tactics used against demonstrators. Earlier in the week, they also held talks with parliamentarians, but efforts to secure a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto have so far failed.
Rights groups say the protests have taken a heavy toll.
Human Rights Watch reported that at least 10 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in clashes with security forces and other unrest.
Authorities have detained over 3,000 people nationwide in what the rights group described as a sweeping crackdown.
The government has yet to announce whether it will review the controversial housing benefits or security force conduct, leaving questions over whether calm will hold once the holiday ends.
