Student leaders in Jakarta intensified demonstrations on Friday, a day after a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was killed when police cracked down on a rally outside parliament.
The unrest, which erupted earlier in the week, has been fuelled by soaring joblessness and rising prices, with protesters also demanding an end to what they view as extravagant housing perks for lawmakers.
On Thursday, riot police escalated tensions by deploying tear gas and ramming armoured vehicles into crowds, responding to demonstrators who had hurled rocks, firecrackers, and Molotov cocktails.
Affan Kurniawan, the 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, was run over by a police vehicle during the unrest. In response, the All-Indonesia Students’ Union urged fresh protests to denounce police brutality, while Jakarta’s provincial government pledged “full support” for Kurniawan’s funeral arrangements on Friday.
Students, meanwhile, pledged to rally outside the Jakarta police headquarters, with Muzammil Ihsan, head of Indonesia’s largest student union, telling Reuters he expected other groups to join the protest against police brutality.
Governor Pramono Anung of Jakarta said in a statement: “We hope all parties can exercise self-control and prioritise peaceful resolution. Jakarta is our shared home, and we must maintain its harmony and order.”
Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has, meanwhile, ordered an investigation into the death of Kurniawan, saying that he was “shocked and disappointed by the excessive actions” of the police.
In a video address on Friday, Mr Prabowo said he was “deeply saddened and concerned” by the death of the Gojek driver and offered his condolences to the family. Gojek is a local on-demand services and ride-hailing platform in Indonesia.
Earlier, officials had offered apologies for Kurniawan’s death. “We offer our deepest apologies to the victim, his family and the wider online motorcycle taxi driver community,” Indonesian national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told reporters on Friday.
He added: “I deeply regret what happened.”
The 21-year-old was not involved in the protest and was doing deliveries at the time, he said.
Authorities have detained seven members of the local police unit over the incident.
Mr Prabowo warned that “serious action in accordance with the law” would follow if the officers are found to have violated regulations.
Videos circulating online show an armoured vehicle ploughing through protesters on Thursday, striking Kurniawan, who fell before being run over; the vehicle continued moving despite objects being hurled at it.
“There was a motorcycle taxi driver who fell and was hit, but the vehicle did not stop and just moved over until it ran over the victim,” an eyewitness named Kevin told Kompas on Thursday.
On Friday, the hashtag #polisipembunuh (roughly translating to #killerpolice) trended on X as anger over Kurniawan’s death spread online.
A viral video showed hundreds of motorcycle riders forming a convoy in his honour, while local media reported he was laid to rest on Friday morning at Jakarta’s Karet Bivak Public Cemetery.
“We are deeply disappointed, especially with the security officials and the national police chief,” Ari Potret, a motorcycle driver who attended Kurniawan’s funeral, said. “This is barbaric.”
One student protester, identified as Veva, told the BBC: “I just want to defend what’s right. It feels exhausting, you know. We’ve really tried to be good, law-abiding citizens.
“Maybe I haven’t contributed much myself, but I know my parents have done a lot for this country. I cannot accept that the taxes they paid are being used to support people who treat the lives of their fellow citizens as worthless.”
