Indonesians march on parliament to demand crackdown on corruption

Thousands of Indonesians have marched on the parliament in Jakarta to demand harsher punishment for corrupt officials.

The protests on Thursday fell a year to the day since antigovernment rallies turned into riots in which about 10 people were killed and nearly 7,000 arrested.

Riot police held the crowd behind the locked gates of the legislature for much of the day.

The AFP news agency reported that after nightfall, some protesters threw objects at officers, who answered with tear gas and a water cannon. A police post and motorcycle were set alight and several people were carried off on stretchers, it added.

Students also marched in the cities of Yogyakarta and Makassar.

Protesters are demanding that parliament pass a bill, first brought before it in 2008, that would allow the state to seize assets tied to corruption. Some at the rally called for corrupt officials to face the death penalty.

Some lawmakers met with representatives of the protest group United Pati Community Alliance outside of parliament and promised to resign if the bill is not passed by December 15, according to its leader, Sopriyano.

Some 200 students from several universities were present at the protest, urging the government to scrap a free school meal programme marred by corruption claims and repeated food poisoning incidents.

They also called for an end to the “militarisation” of Indonesian society and lower food prices.

“We chose August 27 to commemorate because last year there were riots and various other incidents. And today we want to convey our aspirations, not cause riots,” a representative for the students told Reuters.

Jakarta police deployed 18,500 officers and detained 65 people before the march, on suspicion of being “provocateurs”, spokesperson Budi Hermanto said.

Chief Security Minister Djamari Chaniago said the deployment was not aimed at curbing their right to free expression.

“We will escort them so that their aspirations can be conveyed properly,” he said.