Demonstrations spread across Indonesia on Friday as thousands took to the streets of its capital, Jakarta, and other cities a day after a motorcycle taxi driver was killed at a protest.
The demonstrations, which began on Monday in Jakarta, have been driven by rising unemployment and inflation, with many calling for an end to housing allowances for lawmakers that they see as lavish. On Friday, police officers in riot gear fired tear gas at protesters in the capital and the navy marine corps deployed troops to help secure the demonstrations.
Protests also broke out in Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Solo and other cities.
The demonstrations followed a series of tense altercations on Thursday between the police and protesters, some of whom had been throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails and firecrackers. Police responded with force and at times drove armored vehicles into crowds. At a protest near Parliament in Jakarta, one vehicle struck and killed a taxi driver, 21-year-old Affan Kurniawan.
On Friday, Puan Maharani, the speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives, the country’s main legislative body, released a statement offering condolences to Mr. Kurniawan’s family and expressing “deep concern for the violence experienced by demonstrators while expressing their aspirations.”
On behalf of all the lawmakers, she added, “we apologize if we have not been able to fully carry out our duties as representatives of the people.”
President Prabowo Subianto on Friday called on the national police to investigate the death of Mr. Kurniawan. Hours later, the head of the police’s accountability division said that seven officers who were in the vehicle that struck Mr. Kurniawan had violated a police code of ethics and would placed on leave.
Earlier, the All-Indonesia Students’ Union, which has helped to organize the protests, called for demonstrations against police brutality. The Jakarta Provincial Government said it would “provide full assistance” for Mr. Kurniawan’s funeral, which took place on Friday.
“We hope all parties can exercise self-control and prioritize peaceful resolution,” Gov. Pramono Anung of Jakarta said in a statement.
Economic uncertainty has gripped Indonesia, where the unemployment rate will be the highest in Southeast Asia this year, the International Monetary Fund has warned. President Trump’s tariff policies have made matters worse for Indonesia’s export-driven economy, the largest in the region.
Critics have accused Mr. Subianto, who took office last year, of mismanaging the economy by slashing budgets at the health and education ministries. One of his initiatives, a nationwide free school lunch program, has been derided by critics as too costly.
In February, students held a nationwide campaign of demonstrations called “Indonesia Gelap,” or Dark Indonesia, protesting the spending cuts and demanding an independent review of the lunch program.
The police’s use of force against protesters this week has revived many Indonesians’ fears that democracy and civil rights would suffer under Mr. Prabowo, a former general. He was discharged from the military in 1998 for his involvement in the abduction and torture of pro-democracy activists under the rule of the dictator Suharto, his former father-in-law.
In a video released on Friday, Mr. Prabowo said that the police’s actions on Thursday were “excessive” and called for calm.
The national police chief, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who is not related to the president, has apologized to Mr. Kurniawan’s family and to motorcycle taxi drivers, some of whom joined the demonstrations on Friday.
The tensions seemed to unnerve some investors. Jakarta Stock Exchange’s composite index fell 1.5 percent on Friday, making it the day’s worst-performing index in Asia.
Muktita Suhartono and Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting.
Francesca Regalado is a Times reporter covering breaking news.
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