Police Disperse Crowd Outside Grahadi State Building, Dozens Detained

Police dispersed a mass demonstration in front of the Grahadi State Building in Surabaya, East Java, on Friday evening, after some participants allegedly vandalised fences and threw objects deemed to endanger public and officer safety. Surabaya Police Chief Senior Commissioner Luthfie Sulistiawan stated that his personnel had been providing security for the expression of aspirations in front of the Grahadi State Building since Friday afternoon. “We provided good service. However, we regret the vandalism and throwing that occurred,” Luthfie said. According to Luthfie, the acts of vandalism and throwing were allegedly carried out by a segment of the crowd after Maghrib time. Police had repeatedly issued warnings for the actions to cease, but these were ignored. He explained that the fence of the Grahadi State Building was damaged as a result of the incident, despite the police’s commitment from the outset to secure the protest as long as it was conducted orderly and in accordance with regulations. Because the warnings were not heeded, officers then carried out a gradual dispersal by pushing the crowd away from the front of the Grahadi Building towards the Bundaran Air Mancur area. Luthfie said around a dozen people were detained for further examination. The exact number of individuals detained is still being recorded. The Surabaya Police Chief also confirmed that no police personnel were injured during the dispersal process. According to him, the police did not use tear gas in handling the action. A water cannon tactical vehicle was only used to extinguish a fire that briefly appeared at the demonstration site. “A total of 320 personnel were deployed to secure the action. The number of vehicles and pieces of evidence secured are still being recorded and investigated by officers,” he said. Based on observations, police began dispersing the crowd at around 7:00 PM Western Indonesian Time while urging the public to leave the area around the Grahadi Building. The dispersal process extended to the Bundaran Air Mancur, which is the junction of Jalan Gubernur Suryo, Jalan Pemuda, Jalan Yos Sudarso, and Jalan Panglima Sudirman. At around 7:37 PM, officers erected barriers in the Bundaran Air Mancur area, specifically on the side of Alun-alun Surabaya, to secure the situation. Subsequently, at 7:43 PM, the Surabaya Police Chief dispatched motorised patrol personnel to sweep the Jalan Gubernur Suryo area and its surroundings to ensure conditions remained conducive. At around 7:56 PM, police reopened access to Jalan Gubernur Suryo, which had previously been closed to support the public expression event in front of the Grahadi State Building.