MAKASSAR, Indonesia: At least three people were killed by a fire started by protesters at a council building in eastern Indonesia’s Makassar city, a local official told AFP Saturday, after demonstrations across the country following the death of a motorcycle taxi driver hit by a police vehicle.
The country was rocked by protests across major cities including the capital Jakarta on Friday, after footage spread of a gig motorcycle driver being run over by a police tactical vehicle in earlier rallies over low wages and perceived lavish perks for lawmakers.
Protests in Makassar descended into chaos outside the provincial and local city council buildings, both set on fire and vehicles set ablaze as protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Three people were killed as a result of the fire at the Makassar city council building, its secretary Rahmat Mappatoba said.
“They were trapped in the burning building,” he said, accusing protesters of storming the office to set the building on fire.
“This is beyond our prediction, usually during a demonstration, protesters only threw rocks or burn a tire in front of the office. They never stormed into the building or burned it.”
Two of the victims were staff at the local council and another was a civil servant. Two died at the scene while one died in hospital.
At least four people were injured in the fire and are being treated at hospital, the official said.
The fire has since been extinguished. Images showed the provincial council building ablaze overnight.
Protesters at the South Sulawesi provincial council building tried to knock down the gate and storm in.
In the capital Jakarta, hundreds massed outside the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade Corp. (Brimob) paramilitary police unit they blamed for motorcycle gig driver Affan Kuniawan’s death, throwing firecrackers as police responded with tear gas.
A group of protesters tried to tear down the gates of the unit, notorious for its heavy-handed tactics, and pulled a sign from the building’s facade in chaotic scenes.
Police said they had detained seven officers for questioning in connection with the driver’s death.
The protests were the biggest and most violent of Prabowo Subianto’s presidency, a key test less than a year into his rule that forced him to quickly urge calm, order an investigation and visit the family of the slain driver.
He has pledged fast, state-driven growth but he had already faced protests for widespread government budget cuts to fund his populist policies including a billion-dollar free meal program.
Protests also spread to other major cities on Friday in Indonesia, including Yogyakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya in Java and Medan in North Sumatra province.
