Stay calm, our friends. Don’t run away. Many of our friends are being detained by the police.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Thousands of demonstrators protesting the newly-endorsed job creation law fled from Harmoni Intersection to Gajah Mada and Hayam Wuruk Streets on Thursday evening as police fired tear gas to disperse them.
Police continued to lob tear gas at protestors to break them up, ANTARA reported.
Meanwhile, the rally's coordinators, on board two command cars, urged demonstrators to stay put and not run away.
“Stay calm, our friends. Don't run away. Many of our friends are being detained by the police,” one coordinator said.
Several thousand demonstrators, including students, also tried to stage a protest in front of PT Pelni Headquarters.
Some students on motorcycles appeared to take their injured friends away from the scene.
Access to Harmoni Intersection was closed at 1 p.m. as demonstrators blocked Juanda, Gajah Mada, and Hayam Wuruk Streets.
The workers were planning to express their views at the rally on Thursday, but had to abandon their plans.
Several protesters, including workers and students, have taken to the streets in major Indonesian cities in the past few days to protest the passage of the job creation bill into law by the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Monday night.
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Translator: Fauzi/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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