Traffic on Jalan Mayjen Sutoyo Returns to Normal After UKI Student Protest

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Traffic on Jalan Mayjen Sutoyo has returned to normal following a student demonstration in front of the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) Cawang, East Jakarta, which had caused congestion in the area on Wednesday afternoon.

“Traffic on Jalan Mayjen Sutoyo in front of the UKI Campus is currently flowing smoothly. There was indeed some congestion earlier due to the expression of aspirations,” said the East Jakarta Metro Police Chief, Kombes Pol Alfian Nurcal, in front of UKI Cawang, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Alfian noted that both public activities and vehicle movement along Jalan Mayjen Sutoyo returned to normal after the protesters dispersed.

The congestion that occurred was a direct impact of the demonstration carried out by UKI students.

The protest began at approximately 4:30 PM WIB and lasted for over an hour.

Alfian explained that the demonstration concluded with the reading of demands by the students at 5:45 PM WIB. After presenting their demands, the crowd dispersed and returned to the university campus.

Alfian confirmed that the protest took place in a safe and conducive atmosphere. No riots or actions potentially disturbing public security and order were found.

“Alhamdulillah, they expressed their aspirations well and did not cause unrest. We provided services to the UKI students to facilitate their expression of aspirations. We also express our gratitude because the action was safe and conducive,” Alfian explained.

According to Alfian, the freedom to express opinions in public is a democratic right of citizens protected by law.

During the protest, students also burnt tyres as a form of expressing their aspirations. As a result, plumes of smoke were visible around the protest site.

“They did burn tyres, but we immediately extinguished them using portable fire extinguishers (APAR). There was some smoke, but the situation remained under control,” said Alfian.

Furthermore, Alfian ensured that joint personnel from the TNI/Polri, Kodim 0505/Jakarta Timur, and the East Jakarta Metro Police carried out situation cooling, area cleaning, and traffic management to accelerate the normalisation of vehicle flow.

Observations at the location showed that vehicles from the direction of Cawang and vice versa could pass through smoothly. Police officers also remain on standby to ensure there are no further disturbances following the student demonstration.