Police in Indonesia fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters near two universities in the city of Bandung, stoking concerns over unrest in which 10 people have been killed since last week.
The protests began in the capital Jakarta, targeting government spending such as enhanced perks for politicians, and have since spread nationwide.
These escalated into rioting and looting, causing the equivalent of millions of US dollars in damage to the capital after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver.
University students have long been seen as vanguards of Indonesia’s democracy, having taken a leading role in protests that toppled authoritarian president Suharto in 1998.
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The incident in Bandung was the first instance of police firing at demonstrators on or near university campuses during the current protests, with previous clashes in and around government buildings and officials’ residences.
President Prabowo Subianto warned on Monday that the police and military would stand firm against violent escalations.
On Tuesday,he left for China to attend a Victory Day parade on Wednesday which will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second World War in the region. The trip that was initially cancelled due to the protests.
Mr Prabowo is due to fly back to Indonesia on Wednesday.
Police official Hendra Rochmawan said officers did not enter the campuses of the Islamic University of Bandung (Unisba) and nearby Pasundan University, more than 140km from Jakarta, on Monday night, but tried to break up crowds of “non-student protesters” around the premises.
The Unisba student body accused security forces of seeking to silence dissent, saying they “brutally attacked” the campus. Student groups at Pasundan shared a similar account on social media.
Pasundan student Yoga Tadiyalaga Ruchiyat said students were angry and had found at least 40 tear gas shells on their campus. “We were here as paramedics to help if protesters got injured, but the police fired tear gas [at us],” he said.
One Unisba student was critically injured when hit by rubber bullets on his campus and was undergoing surgery, said Raviv Tuanku Alsaid, head of Islamic Students Union at the university.
President Subianto had talks with labour unions, some of whom joined demonstrations last week calling for a hike in the minimum wage, and said he told MPs to discuss labour laws.
Mr Prabowo’s presidency nears its first anniversary next month.
Indonesia’s official human rights body voiced concern over security forces’ handling of the protests and is conducting an investigation, its commissioner Anis Hidayah told journalists.
The United Nations rights office called for accusations of rights violations by security forces to be investigated.
Indonesians added pink and green hues to their pictures in social media profiles in response to the protests.
Some used hashtag #ResetIndonesia and listed 25 demands for the government, including an end to police brutality and decent wages for the public. – Reuters
