Fatal Clashes as Protests Against President Prabowo Expand Across Indonesia

Three individuals lost their lives on Friday as protests intensified and spread beyond Jakarta, signaling a growing nationwide opposition to President Prabowo Subianto’s administration and its policies.

According to M. Fadli Tahar, acting head of the Makassar Regional Disaster Management Agency, the deceased were government employees who perished after leaping from the third floor of a government building engulfed in flames set by demonstrators.

The unrest caused significant damage to vehicles, with numerous cars and motorcycles vandalized or burned. Visuals circulated on social media by the All-Indonesia Students’ Union, the group behind the protests, depicted buses and motorcycles ablaze.

It remains unclear if the organizers plan to continue demonstrations on Saturday.

Originating on Monday in Jakarta, the protests have rapidly spread to several cities, testing the leadership of President Prabowo, who assumed office in October overseeing Indonesia’s population of 284 million. On Thursday night, a police vehicle dispersing protesters fatally struck a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver. Authorities have launched an inquiry into the incident, and President Prabowo met with the victim’s family the following day.

The recent police crackdown has reignited public concern about potential threats to democracy and civil liberties under Prabowo, a former military general. He was discharged in 1998 due to his involvement in the abduction and torture of pro-democracy activists during the authoritarian Suharto era, under whom he was related by marriage.

Demonstrators are demanding the elimination of lawmakers’ housing allowances, which they criticize as excessive amid Indonesia’s mounting economic challenges. Inflation is accelerating, and unemployment is projected to reach the highest rate in Southeast Asia this year, according to international financial assessments.

By Friday, protests had erupted in at least six cities, with some escalating into violence. In Jakarta, riot police responded with tear gas while the navy’s marine corps was deployed to assist in maintaining order during the demonstrations.