The protest that began over the issue of parliamentarians’ salaries has intensified
JAKARTA:Protests have intensified in Indonesia, where parliament buildings were set on fire in various provinces, as a result of which President Prabowo Subianto canceled his scheduled visit to China.
According to a report by the news agency Reuters, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was supposed to attend China’s Victory Day parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Presidential spokesman Prasit Hadi said in a statement that the president wanted to personally assess the situation and seek a better solution, and that is why he apologized to the Chinese government for not being able to attend the invitation.
He said that the second reason for the president’s visit to China was the United Nations General Assembly session in September.
President Prabowo Subianto’s government is about to celebrate its first anniversary, but protests in the capital Jakarta began this week over the issue of MPs’ salaries and intensified when a motorcyclist was killed after being hit by a police vehicle.
According to local media reports, protesters set fire to parliament buildings in South Nusa Tenggara, the city of Pekalongan in Central Java and the city of Cirebon in West Java.
Reports said that protesters also looted items from the parliament building in Cirebon and that police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Pekalongan and South Nusa Tenggara.
Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency said that a parliament building was set on fire on Friday in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, killing three people.
The state news agency said the dead were trapped in the burning building, and the disaster management agency reported that two people were injured after jumping to escape the fire.
Local media reported that another citizen had died in the fire at the Makassar parliament building, but this could not be independently confirmed.
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