"As many as 20,500 joint personnel have been deployed to guard the rally today," Senior Commissioner Argo Yuwono, the Jakarta Police spokesman, noted here on Monday.
Furthermore, 232 officers were stationed to secure traffic around the Parliament Building.
In fact, the police have closed Gatot Subroto Road toward Slipi over the past three days as a precautionary measure against the university students' protest and the plenary meeting on the inauguration of Parliament members for the 2019-2024 period.
Related news: Indonesian students hold rallies to protest law changes
Related news: KPAI concerned about high school students' involvement in rallies
University students had staged demonstrations throughout Indonesia in the course of the last several days as a mark of rejection to the revisions of several laws, including those on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and Criminal Code (KUHP), viewed as being regressive for democracy and the fight against corruption.
The rallies in Jakarta, Makassar, Medan, and several other regions on Tuesday (Sept 24) took a chaotic turn, as the police resorted to using water cannons and firing tear gas to disperse rioting students. Some police chased students and battered them with clubs, resulting in injuries to several of them.
The Jakarta Police had stationed some 18 thousand police officers to guard the Parliament building in Jakarta on Sept 24.
Jakarta Police Chief Inspector General Eddy Pramono stated that 39 police officers and 265 students were injured in the clashes, with hospital treatment necessitated for 11 students on September 24, 2019.
On Sept 25, thousands of senior high and vocational school students rallied as a mark of solidarity toward the university students in Jakarta and other cities.
On Sept 26, thousands of students from universities in several regions, including Surabaya, Mataram, Aceh, Garut, Kendari, and Magelang, again staged demonstrations.
Two university students died after being shot by live bullets during the protest in Kendari. Southeast Sulawesi. The National Police is presently investigating the deaths, affirming that that police officers guarding student rallies were neither provided live nor rubber bullets.
The government has invited the students for a dialog, though they have, so far, declined the invitation. Related news: President instructs Karnavian to investigate alleged repressive acts
Related news: Death toll in Kendari's massive student protest climbs to two
Translator: Fianda SR, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
