JAKARTA (AP) – Hundreds of students rallied in Indonesia’s capital yesterday to protest sharp increases in fuel prices by the government.
The protesters, from several student organisations, gathered at Jakarta’s National Monument, which commemorates Indonesia’s struggle for independence. “We reject the fuel price hikes”, one of their banners read.
The government increased fuel prices by about 30 per cent last Saturday after reducing some of the costly subsidies that have helped control inflation in the country. The hike – the first in eight years – raised the price of gasoline from USD0.51 to USD0.67 per litre and diesel fuel from USD0.35 to USD0.46.
Protests have been held in several large cities since Monday by students, workers, farmers, fishermen and teachers.
Workers are planning more rallies and considering a national strike unless the increase is rescinded, the president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions Said Iqbal said on Tuesday.
President Joko Widodo said the government was forced to raise fuel prices because the country’s energy subsidies had tripled this year to IDR502 trillion (USD34 billion) as a result of rising global prices of oil and gas.
The government has subsidised fuel for decades in Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation of more than 270 million people.
Higher fuel prices are a politically sensitive issue that could trigger broader price hikes. In 1998, an increase in fuel prices sparked riots that helped topple long-time dictator Suharto.
