Clashes in Bandung on May Day, Police Chief Assures Not Labour Masses

Clashes occurred in Bandung on Friday (1/5) night, coinciding with the commemoration of May Day or International Labour Day 2026. West Java Police Chief Irjen Rudi Setiawan assured that the masses carrying out the demonstration that turned chaotic were not labour groups. He emphasised that the actions to voice aspirations were only conducted by students in the Jatinangor area, Sumedang, and around the West Java Provincial Legislative Council environment. According to Rudi, the clashes that took place in the Jalan Tamansari area, Bandung, did not originate from labour groups. He assured that the masses involved were instead an unknown group with characteristics of wearing all black and covering their faces. “It turned out that in the afternoon towards evening, around 150 unidentified masses were seen, with the characteristics mentioned earlier of wearing black, covering their faces, of course covering their faces to avoid detection of their identities, and then carrying fuel materials,” said Rudi, quoted from DetikJabar. He revealed that the group is suspected of having prepared the riot action. This was evident from the equipment they carried, including bottles filled with fuel suspected to be Molotov cocktails, as well as other hard objects. “Earlier we saw them carrying out spraying and so on, carrying bottles that had already been filled with oil or fuel with their wicks, or in other words, Molotovs. Then other hard objects, because earlier they damaged traffic lights, traffic lights, and other facility places, that was done by them,” he explained. Rudi also confirmed that several public facilities became targets of destruction, including videotrons and police posts at the incident location. “This is a criminal act and we are obliged to protect the public; the people of Bandung must be protected by us,” he stated. Although there was temporary chaos, Rudi assured that the situation has now returned to conducive. Police apparatus along with Kodam III/Siliwangi and the regional government are still on standby to maintain security.