Indonesia Readies for Mass Protests
Arientha Primanita, Farouk Arnaz, ID/Agustiyanti & Dessy Sagita | March 27, 2012
On Monday, the House of Representatives Budget Committee agreed to set aside Rp 137 trillion ($15 billion) for fuel subsidies and Rp 64.9 trillion for electricity subsidies in the state budget, allowing the government to raise consumer prices for the energy sources. A plenary on Thursday will decide on any price increase.
The government plans to raise subsidized fuel prices by 33 percent to Rp 6,000 per liter on Sunday. The plan has sparked protests nationwide since it was announced earlier this month.
The government says the price rise is necessary given the surge in the global cost of oil, the strain of subsidies on the national budget, and the fact the rich are the biggest beneficiaries of the current arrangement.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said 22,000 police personnel, backed by 8,000 members of the
Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), will be deployed to safeguard the country during the demonstrations. Each provincial police command will also include TNI backups, he added,
"TNI is deployed at the request of the National Police in times of crisis and in times of need," said Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and defense affairs.
Din Syamsuddin, the chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Islamic organization, on Sunday said the government's decision to involve the TNI reflected a determination to increase the fuel price.
"The deployment of soldiers shows that the government is determined with its policy," Din said in Karanganyar, Central Java.
"The TNI should not be used to face students. The TNI should be safeguarding the country from external threats."
Djoko called on protesters to rally peacefully and not inconvenience the public through their actions. "To students, NGOs, workers and mass organizations: protest rallies are legal, but we hope that they are done peacefully," Djoko said.
He said that protests so far have included the occupying of fueling stations, including in Malang, East Java, and the commandeering of fuel tank trucks.
"These actions are not sympathetic and not they're not pro-people," he said. "They also don't reflect well on the intellect of the students. Such actions could disturb fuel supply and society."
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi warned of sanctions for heads of provinces, districts and municipalities if they take part in the protests against the fuel price increase.
"There should be no regional heads who air their displeasure because this is against their oaths," Gamawan said.
"They vowed in their oaths to be loyal and abide by the prevailing laws, including government and presidential regulations."
Although various groups and organizations have threatened to hold massive protests against the fuel price increase on Tuesday, labor and workers' union in Jakarta and surrounding areas said that they will hold their protest on Thursday.
"We have checked this with the secretariat of the House of Representatives and they have said that the likely day for a plenary meeting to discuss the fuel price increase will only be Thursday, and not today," said Iqbal, the secretary general of the Social Security Action Committee.
He also said that if the government went ahead with its fuel price increase, labor unions would hold even bigger protests on Labor Day, May 1, with some 200,000 workers from Jakarta, West Java and Banten taking part.
Additional reporting by SP/Robertus Wardi, Hangga Brata, & Aidi Yursal
Massive Police, Military Operation Expected in Jakarta on Tuesday
March 26, 2012
Students in Makassar set car wheels on fire during a rally protesting fuel price hikes last week. Protesters have continued to stage rallies nationwide, including massive ones planned in Jakarta for Tuesday, in rejection to the hikes planned on April 1. (Antara Photo) akarta Police say they have requested the support of 8,000 Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers to secure the capital during demonstrations expected on Tuesday against the fuel price hikes.
Combined with Jakarta police personnel, a total of 22,000 security officers will be on duty to secure the rallies ahead of the fuel price hikes the government has planned for April 1.
"The TNI [the Indonesian Military] will not meet face-to-face with the public. They will stand guard around vital objects," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said in Jakarta on Monday.
The "vital" objects, he said, include ports, airports and toll roads.
Police have received a report that at least 8,000 protesters are set to stage protests against the fuel price hikes in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The actual figure, however, is expected to be far larger than that, as both labor unions and student organizations have vowed to join the rallies on Tuesday.
They will most likely be concentrated at the usual protest spots, namely the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta, was well as the parliamentary complex in West Jakarta.
The dispatchment of TNI soldiers to secure fuel rallies, which began when the government announced the fuel hike plan earlier last month, have sparked a string of criticism, including from lawmakers and political observers.
Rikwanto said, however, that deploying soldiers to ensure public order was not against the law.
"We hope that the protests will run peacefully. If any members of the public feel concerned with information about anarchistic protests, they can simply report it to police," he added.
TNI soldiers were already seen on Monday standing guard at the National Monument (Monas) and the Presidential Palace, among other places in Jakarta.
Antara/JG
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