Eight thousand personnel guard student rally

Jumat, 16 Oktober 2020 15:09 WIB

Police personnel deployed around the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday (Oct 13, 2020) to guard a rally against the job creation law. ANTARA PHOTO/Rivan Awal Lingga/wsj.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Some eight thousand security personnel were stationed around Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Friday as a precautionary measure to guard the All-Indonesia University Student Executive Board’s (BEM SI's) rally against the job creation law.

"Joint security personnel from the Indonesian police, military, and the Jakarta provincial government have been deployed to guard the rally," Chief of the Public Relations Section of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Senior Commissioner Yusri Yunus noted here on Friday.

The police have also readied some 10 thousand personnel around the National Monument (Monas) as a precautionary measure against the rising number of demonstrators.

Since 11 p.m. local time on Thursday, the police have also closed down the Medan Merdeka Barat, Harmoni, and Veteran streets to prevent demonstrating students from approaching the Merdeka Palace.

Furthermore, the police have re-directed traffic near the Merdeka Palace to prevent traffic congestion while the students stage the rally.

BEM SI plans to stage a demonstration near the Merdeka Palace on Friday to express rejection to the law.