According to reporting from Jakarta Globe, the situation in Central Jakarta remains tense on Friday (29/8/25), following the incident in which an online motorcycle taxi driver named Affan Kurniawan was run over by a police tactical vehicle during a rally the night before. Authorities confirmed later that Alfan had died from his wounds.
Public anger erupted into clashes between residents and security forces, which are still ongoing. From Thursday night until Friday morning, a group of people attacked the police’s Mobile Brigade Unit Headquarters in the Kwitang area, Central Jakarta.
They vandalized and set fire to public facilities as a form of protest and revenge over the incident.
Jakarta Globe is reporting that several public facilities, such as TransJakarta bus lane dividers, traffic signs, and even a police post under the Senen elevated road, were burned. In addition, eight cars parked on the roadside were completely destroyed by fire.
Traffic flow from Salemba to Senen and from Tugu Tani to Senen was totally closed due to the unrest, which continues to this moment.
According to field observations, the crowd continues to occupy the Kwitang Brimob Headquarters area and its surroundings, although the intensity of the clashes has slightly decreased compared to the previous night. Police continue efforts to disperse the crowd using tear gas and traffic management to prevent the situation from escalating further, says Jakarta Globe.
This incident has drawn more public attention to the way security forces handle demonstrations that turn violent. The public and various groups are demanding a thorough investigation and legal accountability for officers found to be negligent.
Previously, demonstrations were only carried out by university students from various campuses. Before the students arrived, groups of workers had already staged protests in front of the DPR (House of Representatives) building. The workers ended their action at around 1:00 p.m.
Jakarta Globe reports that the situation began to escalate at night. Police reported that irresponsible parties had infiltrated the demonstrators around the DPR building. Jakarta Police spokesman Ade Ary Syam Indradi said that these individuals did not have any clear structure or group identity, but committed acts of anarchy.
“There was something very regrettable. When our colleagues from one of the campuses were expressing their views in front of the DPR building, there were irresponsible parties,” Ade Ary told reporters on Thursday (28/8/25.)
Source: Jakarta Globe
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