Student Protests in Makassar Today, Police Warn of Infiltrators

Student demonstrations are being held again at several points in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Monday (15/6). The protests are in response to various policies of President Prabowo Subianto that are considered not to be pro-people. As many as 1,500 police personnel will be deployed to oversee the action. “If there are only 100 protesters, we prepare 150 personnel. If there are 1,000 protesters, we prepare 1,500 personnel,” said Makassar Police Chief, Senior Commissioner Arya Perdana, on Monday morning. Based on gathered information, several points in Makassar will serve as locations for today’s student demonstrations, such as under the flyover on Jalan Urip Sumiharjo, in front of the UIN campus on Jalan Sultan Alauddin, and the temporary office of the South Sulawesi Regional House of Representatives on Jalan AP Pettarani. “Currently, the protesters, thank God, are the same as on other days. The deployment of personnel for protest services is carried out according to the number of protesters,” he stated. According to Arya, maximum service will be provided so that today’s protest actions, which will be held by a number of student alliances and organisations, can proceed safely and comfortably. “We hope it can be orderly, safe, comfortable, and smooth so that the message of the protesters can be conveyed,” he said. Arya also reminded students carrying out the protests to be able to recognise their members and not be easily provoked. “Be careful of parties who want to provoke and intimidate. Beware of infiltrators who want to ruin the good intentions of the protesters,” he said. A wave of actions by students and civil groups has been ongoing since last week until today. Today, actions with similar demands are known to be taking place in Berlin and Surabaya. Last week, student demonstrations took place in Bandung on Thursday (11/6), Jakarta and Solo on Friday (12/6), and Yogyakarta on Saturday (13/6).