More than 140 kilometers (86 miles) west of Jakarta, authorities used tear gas to cover the campuses of Pasundan University and the Islamic University of Bandung (UNISBA).
Authorities used rubber bullets and tear gas canisters from outside the campus gates, according to Muhammad Ilham, a student from Pasunda, according to the Reuters news agency.
A student was struck by a rubber bullet in two shots, he claimed.
According to Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, at least eight people have died as a result of the protests since last week.
Authorities attempted to disperse crowds of non-student protesters who had been requesting protection on university grounds on Tuesday, according to police official Hendra Rochmawan.
Harits Nu’man, the rector of UNISBA, confirmed that the campus had been a medical hub for protesters and echoed the police’s statement.
The UNISBA student body, however, claimed that security forces “brutally attacked” the campus because tear gas made some students’ breathing difficulties.
Unrest in large numbers
According to Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, a group of motorbike taxi drivers in central Jakarta were gathered to pay tribute to the 21-year-old driver who died after being hit by an armored police car during the demonstrations.
“There are a lot of them,” They claim that they can call for their various demands, including economic inequality, and do it peacefully, in order to demonstrate the power of peaceful assembly so they can honor their colleague,” according to Washington.
She continued, noting that many Indonesian civil society organizations are “raising the alarm” about a Jakarta police officer’s arrest late last night.
A coalition of women’s groups is planning additional protests on Tuesday outside Jakarta’s parliament.
At least 20 protesters have vanished since the demonstrations started last week as rage increased as a result of widespread overspending by lawmakers and police, according to the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS).
The group claimed that 20 people had been reported missing in Central Jakarta, East Jakarta, and North Jakarta, as well as in the cities of Bandung and Depok on Java Island.
Students at universities have long been regarded as the face of Indonesia’s democracy because they participated actively in the 1998 uprisings that helped to overthrow President Soeharto.
The first significant test of his leadership will be facing current president Prabowo Subianto, a military leader under Soeharto. According to a statement from his office, he met labor unions and told lawmakers to discuss labor laws, some of whom joined the protest last week.
Source: Aljazeera
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