Bayu Marhaenjati & SP/Bernadus Wijayaka – Jakarta Police shut down access to the Jakata-Tangerang toll road Monday morning as labor unions attempted to flood the capital in protest of Monday's expected fuel price hikes.
The blockades brought traffic to a halt as police attempted to prevent large-scale protests in Central Jakarta, according to reports aired on Elshinta Radio.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the central government's controversial fuel subsidy cuts, a move that would raise the price of subsidized fuel 44 percent to Rp 6,500 ($0.65) a liter. Thousands of protestors had already gathered in a demonstration outside of the House Monday afternoon, prompting police to blockade sections of the inner-city toll road and causing gridlock on westbound lanes.
The scene inside the House was no less chaotic. The House's plenary session on the revised 2013 state budget adjourned for recess without reaching a decision Monday afternoon after deliberations erupted into a series of heated arguments. The session was to scheduled to restart at 1 p.m., but at 2:35 p.m. the recess was still in effect.
The Jakarta Police stationed thousands of officers at key locations across the capital in anticipation of the demonstrations. Previous efforts to rein in Indonesia's costly subsidies resulted in days of chaotic protests in Central Jakarta as demonstrators set fires and hurled stones at police.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Cmr. Rikwanto said some 19,400 officers were deployed along the protest route – the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to Merdeka Square – and at gas stations throughout the region. He expected some 5,000 protestors to take to the streets on Monday.
"We estimate that protestors [will number] around 5,000 up to 10,000 people from many labor elements and social organizations," he said.
Protestors in West Jakarta massed at M1 toll gate, near the Jakata-Tangerang border, blocking off access to one lane of the airport-bound toll road. Smaller protests were reported in Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Ciamis, West Java, Surabaya, Ambon, Makassar, Siantar, North Sumatra.
Police extinguish fire on tires torched by students during a protest against fuel price hikes in front of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Monday. (JG Photo/Bayu Marhaenjati)
The Muslim Students Association (HMI) and Indonesia Muslim Students' Movements (PMII) announced plans to join the protest on Monday. The Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI) announced plans to send 3,000 members to Monday's protest. The organization rejected both the fuel price hike and a government cash handout meant to cushion the sting of higher prices, KSPI President Said Iqbal said.
"[The] workers refuse the fuel price increase, therefore we will deploy 3,000 people on June 17 to the House of Representatives building," he told Detik.com on Monday. "At the same time, the protests will also be held by thousands of workers in Pulogadung industry area and all over Indonesia."
In Depok, West Java, more than 300 police officers were standing guard at 45 gas stations to prevent looting or hoarding before the price increase takes effect, said Cmr. Suratno, head of the Depok Police's operational division.
"We are guarding the stations as a preemptive step in anticipation of unwanted things like fuel hoarding, which happened last year in the Bojonggede area," he said.