repost from LB too late for notables
Indonesia's president cancels China trip as protests continue
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday (Aug 30) cancelled a planned trip to China as days of protests spread further outside the capital Jakarta, with several regional parliament buildings set ablaze.
Prabowo had been due to attend a "Victory Day" parade in China on Sep 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, following Japan's formal surrender.
The protests, the first major test for Prabowo's nearly year-old government, began in Jakarta this week over lawmakers' pay and worsened after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle rider.
"The president wants to continue monitoring (the situation in Indonesia) directly…and seek the best solutions," presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement on Saturday.
"Therefore, the president apologises to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation."
Another consideration in cancelling the trip was a United Nations General Assembly session in September, Prasetyo said.
In the light of the protest, short-video app TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, said on Saturday it had suspended its live feature in Indonesia for a few days.
Jakarta had this week summoned representatives of social media platforms, including as Meta Platforms Inc and TikTok, and told them to boost content moderation because disinformation had spread online. The government says that such disinformation has spurred protests against it.
Earlier on Saturday, protesters caused fires at regional parliament buildings in three provinces - West Nusa Tenggara, Pekalongan city in Central Java and Cirebon city in West Java, local media reported.
Local media Detik said protesters had looted parliamentary office equipment in Cirebon and police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Pekalongan and West Nusa Tenggara.
Three people were killed on Friday in an arson attack on a parliament building in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, Indonesia's disaster management agency said.
State news agency Antara said the victims had been trapped in the burning building, and the disaster management agency said two people were injured after jumping out of the building to escape the fire.
Local media outlet metrotvnews.com reported one further death from a fire at the Makassar parliamentary building. This could not be independently confirmed.
Protests also occurred on the holiday island of Bali, where tear gas was used against protesters.
Local media also reported that a crowd had looted the Jakarta home of Ahmad Sahroni, a lawmaker from the political party NasDem, and taken items including household furniture.
Sahroni has faced accusations of responding insensitively to people calling for parliament to be dissolved amid anger over lawmakers' allowances. Sahroni has labelled such critics "the stupidest people in the world".
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-protests-delivery-rider-prabowo-china-trip-cancel-5324526
Now a battle for control of Indonesia is flaring between the US and China. Indonesia has the largest population, (286 million) and the largest GDP by far in S E Asia ($1.4 Trillion in 2024).
Here is what our contacts on the ground have to say:
“One of the main funders is an Indonesian Chinese man who has controlled oil trading in and out of Indonesia for the last several decades. He has been found guilty of several corruption charges. He now runs and hides in Singapore. He is a billionaire. China is backing this revolution.
The Indonesian President is supported and backed by US Deep State interests. Many government officials have fled the country and gone to Singapore, Australia, and China. They don’t want to be swinging from the lampposts. This will build momentum during the week.”
Another source says, “It looks like many people will be shot tomorrow. The Regional Police Chief has prepared live ammunition and rubber bullets.”
A third source says, “The government/policemen are targeting the Chinese again… because they have the money.”
He adds, “Remember that when current President Prabowo Subianto was the head of the special military force called Kopassus in 1997, 400 plus university students disappeared, never to be seen again. The students were demonstrating for weeks during the Asian financial crisis. Chinese women were being raped in the streets by the police and military, and nothing was done to stop it.”
Already, Parliament buildings are being burned down in Indonesia, and the Chinese are being attacked.