Simon Selly – A student demonstration in Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), took place in front of the NTT Regional Police Headquarters on Saturday evening August 30. During the demonstration, the crowd voiced their aspirations regarding a number of national and local issues.

The demonstration began at around 5.30 pm with the crowd moving along one lane of Jalan Jenderal Soeharto. Despite this, traffic was only congested briefly due to the diversion. Several vehicles were blocked but traffic moved smoothly in the lane that remained open.

The protesters carried placards reading "Disband the DPR" and "The Police are Murderers" as a form of protest against government policies and House of Representatives (DPR) members. They also criticised budget policies deemed to favour DPR members and demanded justice for the death of online motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver Affan Kurniawan, which they considered an inhumane act.

Kurniawan died on the Thursday evening after being run over by a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle during a demonstration near the DPR in Jakarta.

The protest culminated when the crowd set fire to old tyres in front of the NTT Regional Police Headquarters entrance and lit candles as a symbol of protest. The demonstration proceeded peacefully, although it caused some traffic congestion in the area.

Kupang city District Police Chief (Kapolres) Senior Commissioner Djoko Lestari met with the protesters directly to urge them to maintain security and public order. He also requested that the crowd not block the entire road.

"Move in a little, don't block the road", Lestari asked the crowd. As of writing this article, the demonstration was still ongoing. (dpw/dpw)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Demo di Depan Polda NTT, Massa Bakar Ban".]

Source: https://www.detik.com/bali/nusra/d-8088127/mahasiswa-demo-di-depan-polda-ntt-massa-bakar-ban.