After initially cancelling because of days of extensive protests against rising inequality, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has left for China, according to his presidential spokesperson, Prasetyo Hadi, in a statement.
Kim Jong Un, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and more than 25 leaders will attend the parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversaries of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
According to his spokesman on Tuesday, Prabowo is scheduled to meet with Xi Jinping in China for lunch. On September 3, he will return home.
Rights groups claim that at least six people were killed and over 20 were missing in Indonesia as a result of widespread protests.
Following the fatal shooting of a motorcycle taxi driver who was hit by a police car during a demonstration in the capital, protests started in Jakarta last week.
A five-storey building has been set on fire near the police compound in the central Jakarta Kwitang neighborhood after protesters have attacked the police mobile brigade headquarters.
In the easternmost Papua region, Surabaya, Solo, Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, Manado, Bandung, and Manokwari have also been the sites of demonstrations in other cities across the nation.
Protesters also targeted other lawmakers’ homes as well as the finance minister’s home in Indonesia.
“A thorough and truthful investigation”
President Subianto promised on Friday to look into the death of Affan Kurniawan, a driver for a gig motorcycle, and he also expressed his “deepest condolences and sympathy” for the government.
He stated in a statement that “I have ordered that the incident last night be thoroughly and transparently investigated and that the officers involved be held accountable.
The country’s government cut financial incentives for lawmakers on Sunday to address the protestors’ economic concerns.
President Subianto stated, “The parliament leadership informed me that they would revoke several policies, including the cap on the amount of money that lawmakers can receive from abroad,” without mentioning which cap.
The president, however, attacked the protests over the country’s economic problems on Sunday, saying some of the actions at rallies in recent days constituted “terrorism” and treason.
“Respectful and protected should be the right to peaceful assembly. In a speech at the presidential palace in the capital’s Jakarta, he said, “We cannot deny that there are signs of actions against the law, even against the law, which lean toward treason and terrorism.”
After several politicians’ homes were razed as anti-government protests spread throughout Indonesia, defense minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced at a press conference on Sunday that the country would take strong measures against “rioters and looters.” In order to improve security, the country’s armed forces were also stationed in the capital.
Rights groups claim Prabowo’s olive branch from parliament did not go far enough, despite the recent decrease in the protest rallies and the military’s deployment on Monday as a show of force.
According to Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid, the president’s statement was insensitive to all the complaints and aspirations the people were voicing during the demonstrations.
Source: Aljazeera
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