Two Pertamina fuel tankers were hijacked in North Jakarta this morning by protesters who have now parked them in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta and threatened to set them on fire if they are not given an audience with President Jokowi.
According to the state-owned oil and gas company, a group of around 10 men on a pickup truck hijacked the two tankers – which were heading to Tangerang – in Ancol at around 5am today. A short while later, the tankers were parked in front of the State Palace where hundreds of men had gathered for a protest.
"The drivers of the tankers were forced to get off. The tankers were then taken by a group of robbers who said they were heading to the State Palace," Ayulia, spokesperson for Pertamina's fuel handling subsidiary Pertamina Patra Niaga, told Detik this morning.
A photo shared by Pertamina Patra Niaga shows the tankers being parked in front of the State Palace among a crowd of protesters wearing what appear to be white uniforms.
As reported by Riau24, the protesters consist of tanker drivers who were laid off by Pertamina. They are demanding an audience with President Joko Widodo, though it's not yet clear what exactly their demands are at this point.
"If the matter is not resolved today the tankers will be burned," a protester told Riau24.
There have been no reports of the police making any arrests in relation to the hijacking of the tankers nor whether they are working to secure the highly flammable vehicles from the protesters any time soon.