Unrest in Indonesia: Wave of protests reaches Bali – village guards mobilized

In Indonesia, the nationwide protests against Privileges from MPs have now also reached the island of Bali, which is popular with tourists – and are causing unrest in the holiday region. After violent riots at the weekend in the island capital Denpasar, the authorities now mobilized traditional village guards, the so -called “Pecalang”, to ensure security and order, as the State news agency Antara reported.

On Saturday there were collaboration in Denpasar in front of the regional police headquarters and the local parliament. Demonstrators threw stones and damaged facilities. The police used tear gas and arrested dozens of people.

According to the authorities, many of the participants should have traveled from outside of Bali. The nourished fears that riots – already Jakarta and other big cities have already hit could also spread to the holiday island.

The unarmed village guards, who are deeply rooted in the culture of Balis and enjoy extremely high reputation, should help other emergency services to protect the peace and the tourism industry that are important for Bali from further disorders. They are considered moral and non -violent authority.

Around 1,000 pecalang gathered in the morning (local time) into a mass appliances in Denpasar, others remained stationed in their villages. A spokesman for the Pecalang Council in the district of bathroom said that the violence had been triggered by “outsiders” and announced that it was “spiritual and physical” to defend Bali.

What is the protests about?

Indonesia is currently experiencing the most violent mass protests in years. The anger is primarily directed against an additional monthly apartment allowance of 50 million Indonesian rupees (around 2,600 euros) for MPs – a sum that exceeds the monthly wage of a number of Indonesians many times over, as critics complain.

The announcement came at a time when many people in the world’s largest island state suffer from increasing living costs and taxes as well as mass layoffs. In addition, the anger was heated by videos by politicians who showed their luxurious lifestyle on social media.

So far, at least seven people have been killed in connection with the unrest, as can be seen from reports of various authorities. The situation recently escalated when a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver was caught and killed by a armored police vehicle in Jakarta. Nationwide, political buildings and private houses were set on fire by politicians and looted.

President Prabowo Subianto has meanwhile signaled a partial inflow: certain MPs’ benefits are to be deleted, and trips abroad are to be suspended for the time being. At the same time, he expressed the violent riots sharply. Prabowo also canceled a planned trip to China because of the tense situation.