Thais warned by embassy against entering protest sites in Indonesia
Thai embassy in Jakarta warns Thais to avoid protest-hit areas in Indonesia after violent rallies spread across major cities.
The Thai embassy in Jakarta on Sunday warned Thai tourists and expatriates in Indonesia to avoid areas where violent protests against the Indonesian government were taking place.
The embassy urged Thais planning to travel to Indonesia, as well as those already living there, to exercise caution and steer clear of demonstration sites.
According to the embassy, protests led by workers and students had spread over the past week to several major cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta, Surabaya and Medan.
Thais in Indonesia were advised to closely monitor updates from the Indonesian authorities and to contact the embassy for assistance on +62 811 186 253.
The protests were initially sparked by public anger over lawmakers’ allowances in Jakarta but escalated after a police vehicle fatally struck a motorcyclist earlier this week. With tensions rising, TikTok — owned by China’s ByteDance — announced on Saturday that it had temporarily suspended its live-streaming service in Indonesia.
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 deadliest incident occurred on Friday in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, where an arson attack on the local parliament killed at least three people.
