Protest against new labour law turned violent across Indonesia

Protests in many Indonesian cities turned violent Thursday as thousands of enraged students and workers criticized a new law they say will cripple labour rights and harm the environment. Clashes between rock-throwing demonstrators and riot police broke out near Jakarta's presidential palace as police tried to disperse the protesters, including workers and high school and university students.Police fired tear gas at the protesters from several high schools and universities as they tried to approach the palace compound, turning roads into a smoke-filled battleground. The protesters hurled rocks and bottles.As night fell, some protesters set fire to a subway shelter in downtown Jakarta, causing the area to turn an eerie orange colour. Demonstrators also burned road barriers, several cars, a cinema and damaged several government offices.

Indonesia's  security minister Mohammad Mahfud told a televised news conference late on Thursday the government would not tolerate any action of damaging public facilities and physical attacks on police and community members. Mahfud said that those acts are insensitive to the conditions suffered by people who are struggling against COVID-19 and financial difficulties."For this reason, for the sake of order and security, the government will take a firm stand against anarchist actions aimed at creating chaos and fear in society," he said. "The government to carry out legal proceedings against all perpetrators and actors who ride on these anarchist and criminal actions.Similar clashes occurred in large cities all over the country, including Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, Manado and Bandung. Organizers have called for a three-day national strike starting Tuesday demanding that the government revoke the legislation.

The Job Creation Law approved by Parliament on Monday is expected to substantially change Indonesia's labour system and natural resources management.It amended 79 previous laws and was intended to improve bureaucratic efficiency as part of efforts by Widodo's administration to attract more investment to the country. The demonstrators say the law will hurt workers by reducing severance pay, removing restrictions on manual labour by foreign workers, increasing the use of outsourcing, and converting monthly salaries to hourly wages.