Minister Sees Political Motive as Fresh Protests Hit Indonesia

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesian cities were swept by a fresh wave of protests against a series of controversial laws, which a senior minister said was being used as cover by some groups to disrupt the inauguration of President Joko Widodo for a second term.

Thousands of students took to the streets in Jakarta, Surabaya and Southeast Sulawesi on Thursday as part of a fourth straight day of civil action. They are demanding the parliament drop proposed changes to the criminal code that seek to outlaw sex outside of marriage, infringe on gay rights and curb freedom of expression, and are calling for a law that has weakened the nation’s anti-graft agency to be annulled.

The protests turned violent in many cities this week with demonstrators hurling rocks and firecrackers at police, with authorities using tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd made up mostly of students. The clashes left 265 students and 36 policemen injured in Jakarta alone, the police said Wednesday.

Jokowi, as Widodo is known, said he will meet with representatives of agitating students on Friday to discuss their demands. The government will take into account all the feedback it has received including on the anti-corruption law and the demand to revoke it, the president said. He urged protesters to desist from violence and not damage public facilities.

But the Coordinating Minister for Political, Justice and Security Affairs Wiranto said the protests were hijacked by groups seeking to create chaos and instability in the country through the “planned, systematic and unconstitutional” attacks. He didn’t identify the groups behind the violence against the police.

“The government is anticipating a new wave of movement, which will involve several community groups, such as students and hard-line Islamic groups, and result in fatalities and chaos,” Wiranto said in a televised address. “They want to occupy the parliament’s building, so that the lawmakers cannot carry out their duties. The end goal is to thwart the inauguration of elect president and vice president.”

While Jokowi and vice president-elect Ma’ruf Amin are set to be sworn in on Oct. 20, the newly-elected members of parliament are scheduled to assume their duties on Oct. 1.

The U.S. embassy in Jakarta has warned of the possibility of more demonstrations in the coming days and advised its citizens to avoid areas affected by the protests. While Jokowi last week moved to delay the changes to the criminal code, they may still be reintroduced when the new parliament is sworn in next month.

--With assistance from Viriya Singgih.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tassia Sipahutar in Jakarta at ssipahutar@bloomberg.net;Arys Aditya in Jakarta at aaditya5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Thomas Kutty Abraham at tabraham4@bloomberg.net, Karlis Salna

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