Indonesia added some local spice to International Anti-Corruption Day on Wednesday, chanting "Hang the corruptors!" in Banda Aceh, attacking a KFC restaurant in South Sulawesi and burning photographs of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in East Java.
Protests in Makassar generated the most violence on a day full of otherwise overwhelmingly peaceful rallies. A decision by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) to conduct urban warfare drills in the South Sulawesi capital to coincide with the protests may have added to the heated atmosphere there.
Unaware that South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo was attending the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, thousands of students and community activists gathered outside the governor's offices at noon and began to hurl rocks at police, who retaliated with tear gas and water cannons. Tensions were exacerbated as a rumor spread through the crowd that authorities had abducted key protesters.
South Sulawesi Police Chief Insp. Gen. Adang Rochjana turned up to try to calm the crowd but narrowly avoiding being hit by a barrage of rocks. Again, police responded by surging into the crowd to arrest those they believed were responsible for inciting the confrontation, triggering more violence.
Rioters then turned their attention on a KFC outlet as they marched down Jalan Sam Ratulangi, also targeting private cars, a police vehicle and the former offices of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party along the way. Police said the clashes were the result of a "misunderstanding."
Rumors of tens of thousands of protesters and a riot in Medan, North Sumatra, proved wildly inaccurate. Only about 200 peaceful protesters had turned up.
In Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, anger against Yudhoyono was much more palpable. Members of the Aceh Voice of Anti-Corruption People (Surak), a coalition of 25 civil society and student organizations, chanted "Hang the corrupters!" and distributed fliers during a peaceful two-hour rally that was well guarded by police.
Demonstrators called on the respected Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which has a limited presence in the province despite endemic graft there, to take over the investigation of 21 high-profile, unresolved corruption cases.
In Pekanbaru, Riau, also in Sumatra, thousands of protesters focused their anger on the central government as they marched through the city. But they also demanded that local authorities reopen investigations into the illegal logging that plagues the province.
Peaceful protest also was the order of the day in Solo, Central Java, but Yudhoyono came under sharp attack there. Many called for him to be deposed and even hanged.
"If SBY is afraid of the monkey Anggodo, if SBY keeps changing his statements, if the Bank Century scandal is not thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators sent to jail, I vow to unleash the people's power to unseat SBY," said veteran activist Moedrick Sangidoe, in reference to Anggodo Widjojo, a central figure in the alleged conspiracy to bring down the KPK.
Moedrick's calls were a slap in the face for Yudhoyono. The president had visited Moedrick to request support for his election campaign this year.
"In Solo, I stand at the forefront to urge SBY to uncover the Bank Century scandal. If he stays namby-pamby, saying one thing in the morning and another in the afternoon, I will be the first person to depose him," Moedrick said.
Despite the best efforts of 750 police officers, the thousands of protesters caused major traffic disruptions in Solo. Protester Muhammad Sungkar expressed his disappointment on the rostrum at the Gladag traffic circle.
"I voted for SBY hoping that he could be trusted to lead the people to prosperity. It turned out he could not be trusted. In my opinion SBY's government is a failure. I am ashamed to have voted for him," he told the crowd.
In Surabaya, East Java, around 1,000 protesters turned out but they initially refused to march in a joint demonstration. Eventually, however, they relented, a decision likely influenced by the heavy police presence.
In Bali, protesters were prevented from getting anywhere near Yudhoyono, who rode out the day in the resort area of Nusa Dua. A small rally was held in front of Bajra Sandhi War Monument in Denpasar. They called for the dismissal of Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono for their alleged roles in the Bank Century bailout, and held placards with statements saying such things as "SBY is a coward."
National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri thanked those involved in the anticorruption rallies, which he said ran relatively smoothly and peacefully, except for the incidents in Makassar. He said he hoped the protests would help to speed up the investigation of corruption cases.
[Additional reporting by Antara.]