Thousands of students from various universities in Surabaya, East\nJava, held a demonstration in the provincial capital on Tuesday (10\nNovember).<\/p>\n
The protesters, from Airlangga University (Unair), Sepuluh Nopember\nInstitute of Technology (ITS), other campuses and civil society groups,\nstaged a large rally at the Air Mancur roundabout in Surabaya\u2019s\nAlun-Alun.<\/p>\n
CNNIndonesia.com observed that the joint group began by marching from\nUnair\u2019s Campus B on Jalan Airlangga to the roundabout on Jalan Gubernur\nSuryo.<\/p>\n
On arriving, the students and civil society participants gathered\naround the fountain, bringing traffic to a complete standstill on four\nroads: Jalan Gubernur Suryo, Jalan Pahlawan, Jalan Panglima Sudirman and\nJalan Yus Sudarso.<\/p>\n
The protesters displayed banners criticising the government,\nincluding slogans reading \u2018free smoke, critical breathing\u2019 and \u2018forests\nare burning, people\u2019s needs are affected \u2014 what is the government\ndoing?\u2019<\/p>\n
Daniel Situmorang, Unair Student Executive Board\u2019s social and\npolitical affairs minister and the rally\u2019s field coordinator, said\nGibran Rakabuming Raka\u2019s resignation from the vice-presidency would be a\nstarting point, not the end of efforts to defend democracy. He urged\ncivil society and students not to become complacent about the political\ndevelopments.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators raised key issues concerning the environment, the\neconomy and civilian supremacy. They highlighted forest and land fires,\nwhich have not been declared a national disaster.<\/p>\n
\u2018We see the inability and incompetence of national leaders to uphold\nthe commitments they made during the campaign and since taking office.\nThere is no justice and no public welfare,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
They also cited continuing increases in the prices of basic\nnecessities and called for all forms of intimidation against civil\nsociety to end, in order to uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n
\u2018We demand that forest and land fires be declared a national\ndisaster. The government must stop treating the smoke affecting our\nbrothers and sisters in Kalimantan, Papua, Sulawesi, Sumatra and\nelsewhere as a minor issue. Disaster response must be the state\u2019s top\npriority now,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Next, we demand that the prices of basic necessities come down.\nPeople\u2019s kitchens must not continue to suffer because of rising food\nprices. Finally, we demand civilian supremacy. Restore civil rights and\nend all forms of intimidation and the dominance of power over the law,\u2019\nhe added.<\/p>\n
ITS Student Executive Board president Rakan Naufal Alief said the\ncombined protesters felt that the series of problems caused by the\ngovernment had reached a point at which the public had lost trust.<\/p>\n
\u2018This is an expression of distrust: the current administration has\ncreated many problems, and many demands have gone unheard,\u2019 Rakan\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The rally was estimated to have drawn nearly 3,000 people. Protesters\nchose the Alun-Alun fountain roundabout because, they said,\ndemonstrations at legislative buildings had not produced concrete\nresults.<\/p>\n
\u2018Today we have come together from various organisations and\ncommunities, with nearly 3,000 people. ITS alone has brought 1,500. The\ngovernment should listen carefully to our demands and hear our\naspirations,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
The protesters began blocking the Alun-Alun fountain junction at 3pm.\nThe demonstration ended in an orderly and peaceful manner at 5.30pm.\nTraffic on Jalan Gubernur Suryo, Jalan Pahlawan, Jalan Panglima Sudirman\nand Jalan Yus Sudarso, which had been completely disrupted, gradually\nreturned to normal.<\/p>\n
Similar demonstrations on 10 November, with broadly comparable\ndemands, were also held by students and civil society groups in Jakarta,\nYogyakarta, Purwokerto and Makassar.<\/p>\n
East Java Regional Police said they had arrested two people suspected\nof carrying a ready-to-use Molotov cocktail during the student and civil\nsociety demonstration at the Alun-Alun fountain monument on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The two suspects, identified by the initials MVK and VS, are Surabaya\nresidents aged about 24. Officers from the East Java Police Preventive\nStrike Task Force arrested them on the western side of the Bambu Runcing\nMonument after becoming suspicious of their behaviour.<\/p>\n
East Java Police spokesperson Senior Commissioner Jules Abraham Abast\nsaid an initial examination at the scene found one ready-to-use object\nsuspected to be a Molotov cocktail.<\/p>\n
\u2018Officers found an object suspected to be a Molotov cocktail,\ncontaining a liquid believed to be Pertamax fuel, with a wick thought to\nhave been made from a piece of trouser fabric belonging to one of the\npeople detained,\u2019 Jules said on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
According to preliminary investigations, MVK and VS had carefully\nplanned the act. They rode a motorbike to a friend\u2019s house to assemble\nthe device.<\/p>\n
After assembling it, they left the motorbike at a friend\u2019s home and\nwalked along Jalan Embong Kenongo towards the rally site. They\nreportedly tried to flee when they saw officers approaching but were\nstopped.<\/p>\n
Jules said their initial statements indicated that they had brought\nthe Molotov cocktail to provoke unrest during the public\ndemonstration.<\/p>\n
\u2018The preliminary findings indicate that the motive was to cause\ndisorder. Investigators will continue examining the case and verifying\nall statements against supporting evidence to determine whether anyone\nelse may have been involved,\u2019 he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/student-demonstration-in-surabaya-ends-peacefully-1794354696", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }