Following the violent rioting that has taken place over the last two days in Central Jakarta, those of us in the capital should finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief today as authorities say there are no plans for more mass protests. But police say they are still securing several protest hotspots in the city to prevent any potential outbreaks of violence.
“There are no [protests] today. But there is the possibility of certain wild actors who could come here and create anarchy,” Jakarta Metro Police Chief Inspector General Gatot Eddy Purnomo told reporters in the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) office building this morning, as quoted by Detik.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside Bawaslu over the past two days. While the protests were largely peaceful during that time, tensions escalated at the site late on both nights as several violent rioters clashed with riot police.
Around 60,000 security personnel were reportedly deployed in the capital today, which is around the same number deployed in each of the last two days.
“We will carry out justice in a measured and assertive manner [against violent rioters],” Eddy said.
Previously, a circular issued by the National Police instructed police precincts in the country to remain on hight alert during for election-related protests until May 25.
Authorities say at least six people have been killed in the rioting in Jakarta over the last two nights and hundreds have been injured. Last night, police arrested 257 suspected of provoking and taking part in the riots and officials say there is strong evidence that many of those captured came from outside of Jakarta and were paid to create chaos during the protests.
Reader Interactions