Since early Tuesday, around 2,000 PDIP sympathizers had gathered at the Proclamation Monument at Jalan Proklamasi before heading to Hotel Indonesia Circle and later proceeding to Merdeka Palace with other protesters from various organizations.
About 8,000 people were expected to participate in the mass protests to be centered at The National Monument near the presidential palace, and at the House of Representatives/the People`s Consultative Assembly (DPR/MPR) building.
The Jakarta Metropolitan police have deployed 22,000 personnel including 8,000 military personnel to guard vital objects in Jakarta and surrounding areas such as sea-ports, airports and toll roads.
The government plans to raise the price of subsidized gasoline and diesel oil by Rp1,500 to Rp6,000 a liter respectively, as of April 1, citing a surge in fuel subsidy as a result of the spiraling global crude prices.
The plan has sparked protests from various parties stating that it would burden the poor people.
Similar rallies were also organized in various cities such as Palu (Central Sulawesi), Bogor and Bandung (West Java), Gorontalo (northern Sulawesi), Surabaya (East Java), Pekanbaru (Riau), Solo (Central Java), Kendari (Southeast Sulawesi, Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara), Medan (North Sumatra), Bandarlampung (Lampung, southern Sumatra), Pangkalpindang (Bangka Belitung, Sumatra), and Makassar (South Sulawesi).
Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is in Seoul to attend the Second Nuclear Safety Summit, has instructed all police personnel to anticipate the mass rallies on Tuesday (March 27) in Jakarta and other areas.
"The President has instructed related authorities to anticipate possible situations following the rallies against the government`s plan to increase fuel prices by April 1," Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said in Seoul on March 26.
(A059)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
