Indonesia’s Prabowo cancels China visit as protests intensify and parliament buildings burn
At least three people were killed and several were injured as parliament buildings across Indonesia were torched amid spreading anti-government protests.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has cancelled a planned state visit to China, citing escalating unrest at home as demonstrations spread beyond Jakarta and turned increasingly violent, with several regional parliament buildings torched.
Prabowo had been scheduled to attend China’s “Victory Day” parade on September 3, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two following Japan’s surrender.
Instead, he opted to remain in Indonesia to monitor the crisis, which has become the most serious challenge to his government since taking office nearly a year ago.
“The president wants to oversee developments in Indonesia directly and find the best solutions,” presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement on Saturday, adding that Prabowo had apologised to Beijing for declining the invitation.
He noted that the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session in September also influenced the decision.
Digital clampdown amid disinformation fears
The protests were initially triggered by public anger over lawmakers’ allowances in Jakarta but intensified after a police vehicle fatally struck a motorcyclist earlier this week. With tensions flaring, TikTok — owned by China’s ByteDance — announced on Saturday it had temporarily suspended its live-streaming service in Indonesia.
Authorities have accused disinformation on social media of fuelling unrest. Earlier in the week, Jakarta summoned representatives from Meta and TikTok, ordering them to step up content moderation.
Fires and fatalities
Local media reported that protesters set fire to regional parliament buildings on Saturday in West Nusa Tenggara, Central Java’s Pekalongan, and West Java’s Cirebon. In Cirebon, demonstrators reportedly looted office equipment, while police used teargas to disperse crowds in Pekalongan and West Nusa Tenggara.
The most deadly incident occurred on Friday in Makassar, South Sulawesi’s capital, where an arson attack on the local parliament killed at least three people.
State news agency Antara said victims were trapped inside the burning building, while the disaster management agency reported that two others were injured after jumping from windows to escape the flames. Local reports suggested a fourth fatality, though this has not been independently confirmed.
Unrest also spread to Bali, where police fired teargas at protesters, and to Jakarta, where the home of NasDem party lawmaker Ahmad Sahroni was ransacked. Furniture and household goods were stolen.
Sahroni, accused of responding dismissively to calls for parliament’s dissolution, had previously described critics as “the stupidest people in the world.”
