Tensions erupted on the streets of Jakarta on Wednesday, as students and civil society protesters clashed with police during demonstrations over rising living costs, devastating forest fires and government spending under President Prabowo Subianto.
Footage shows police retreating along smoke-filled streets as fireworks and projectiles erupt during clashes with protesters. Armored vehicles and police motorcycles block roads as demonstrators move barriers, wave flags, hold burning flares and chant.
The confrontations escalated later in the evening as protesters tried to push through police barricades, prompting officers to fire tear gas and deploy water cannon to disperse the crowds.
Around 14,000 officers were deployed across Jakarta, alongside military personnel, as authorities moved to contain the unrest.
Police said 19 people were detained following the unrest, including one minor, with officers reportedly seizing fireworks, bladed weapons and materials allegedly intended for vandalism.
Protest organizers also demanded lower education costs, accountability for human rights abuses and stronger protections for civil liberties, while calling for cuts to government programs they described as wasteful.
The demonstrations coincided with Indonesia's Youth Pledge Day, commemorating a landmark 1928 declaration of national unity.
The government said it respected the right to peaceful protest and had deployed more than 70,000 firefighters to tackle the forest blazes.
Officials also said companies and individuals suspected of starting forest fires were facing investigations and prosecution, while maintaining that the situation remained under control despite calls to declare a national disaster.
(Source: Agencies)
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