Rowdy protests against price hikes get meaner

Rowdy protests against price hikes get meaner

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Nationwide protests against increases in utility prices entered
their second week on Tuesday, turning more militant in some
provinces as protesters blocked roads and occupied government
offices.

Security concerns due to ongoing demonstrations in Palu, the
capital of Central Sulawesi, reportedly forced President Megawati
Soekarnoputri to cancel her planned visit to the province.

More than 1,000 demonstrators in Palu turned out to join
protests against the hikes in fuel, electricity and telephone
rates. Some burned pictures of Megawati and Vice President Hamzah
Haz and called for their resignation, detik.com reported.

In Jakarta, several hundred workers tore down the front gates
of the House of Representatives, as they demanded lawmakers to
force the government to cancel the utility price hikes.

The gates were knocked down a second time by another group of
protesters later in the day, but neither groups were able to
enter the House's sprawling compound as security was tight
inside.

In Semarang, Central Java, more than 200 university students
occupied the provincial administration offices while students in
the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar blocked roads and caused
traffic jams for several hours.

In Riau, students took over state-owned radio station RRI and
broadcast their anti-price hike message. They also tried but
failed to break down the gates of local telephone operator PT
Telkom, Antara reported.

Hundreds of housewives wearing veils were seen joining the
protests in Jakarta. Some carried cooking utensils as they
gathered before Merdeka Palace to demand that Megawati revoke the
price increases.

"What we're facing is the consequences of a government that
does not care about the public's interests, facilitates dirty
economic practices, and does not have a transparent political
system," said Suara Hati Ibu, a women's activist organization.

Tuesday's protests were neither the biggest nor the most
violent, but demonstrators have taken more drastic measures to
pressure the government.

The protests come on the heels of the demonstrations that were
held almost daily last week, but without any results. The
government refused to cancel or negotiate the triple price hikes,
offering instead cosmetic solutions, such as tax incentives and a
speedier disbursement of aid to the poor.

Megawati, in her first public response to the protests last
week, said that the decision to raise the prices was painful.

Speaking before supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in Bali, she called on the public to
understand that the decision would help the nation in the long
run.

Except for the telephone rates, analysts have agreed that
slashing the subsidies on fuel and electricity were correct.

However, they added, the move came at a time when public
confidence in Megawati was running low. The government pushed
ahead with sales of state companies in defiance of labor
protests, and recently agreed to drop possible criminal charges
against business tycoons who owe the state billions of U.S.
dollars.

Legislators have also voiced concern over these policies, even
though they had agreed to them earlier. A petition is circulating
among them, demanding the cancellation of the utility price
increases.

The chairman of the University of Indonesia's student body,
Rico Marbun, said students planned another rally on Wednesday,
estimating that thousands would turn out for it.

He said they would repeat their demands for the government to
drop the price hikes and arrest corrupt business tycoons.