Pandi Ramedhan, Ambaranie Nadia Kemala Movanita, Jakarta – A woman wearing a yellow jacket suddenly shouted loudly at a line of police officers guarding a demonstration on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday October 28.
The woman demanded that the officers remove the blockade preventing the crowd from voicing their grievances. "Hey, police officers, listen up, central government listen too, this land belongs to the ordinary people!", said the emak-emak (urban housewife) in the yellow jacket.
The emak-emak continued to shout at the officers while encouraging the protesters, who were attempting to break through the police blockade. "They're just students, they're unarmed. You're attacking them as if you're facing terrorists", she said.
Trampled on by police
Protesters on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman in Central Jakarta who had been stopped while attempting to reach the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle clashed with police officers on Wednesday afternoon.
One participant was briefly detained before being released.
According to Kompas.com's observations at the scene at around 5 pm the clash began when the crowd attempted to push through the barricades blocking the path toward the HI traffic circle.
The protesters repeatedly urged the officers to open the blockade so they could pass through and voice their aspirations.
A pushing and shoving ensued between the police and the protesters with the protesters attempting to force their way past the barricades.
In the midst of this situation, officers apprehended a demonstrator who appeared to be wearing a white shirt. Kompas.com observed that during the arrest the officers appeared to trample on the demonstrator.
Seeing their colleague being detained, several other protesters attempted to help. The situation grew increasingly volatile as the crowd tried to approach the officers to free their colleague.
The officers who had detained demonstrator eventually released him back to the crowd. Nevertheless, the unrest continued after the demonstrator had returned to the group.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was ""Mereka Hanya Mahasiswa Tanpa Senjata, tapi Kalian Kayak Hadapi Teroris"".]
