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Indonesians protest fuel price hike |
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HT
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Tuesday, 13 May 2008 |
Forbes
JAKARTA (Thomson Financial) - Hundreds of people rallied across Indonesia for a second day Tuesday against a government plan to raise subsidised fuel prices.
Rallies took place in several cities on the islands of Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra amid simmering anger at rising inflation and higher food costs resulting from the surge in global commodities prices.
In Jakarta, some 500 supporters of hardline Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir gathered outside the presidential palace to condemn President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and demand Islamic law in economic policy.
They carried banners reading 'Fuel price rise is cruel' and 'More people will suffer.'
'Indonesia has to implement economic policy based on Islamic law,' group spokesman Ismail Yusanto told reporters.
In Makassar, South Sulawesi province, more than 100 students blocked roads and burned tyres, police said. A brief scuffle broke out when police moved in to end the protest, ElShinta radio reported.
Some 200 students also rallied in Malang, East Java province, while in Solok of West Sumatra dozens of protesters carried banners blaming the government for adding to the economic misery of Indonesia's poor.
The government is considering a fuel price rise of up to 30 percent, which would see the cost of petrol climb to 6,000 rupiah (65 U.S. cents) a litre ($2.46 a U.S. gallon) from 4,500 rupiah.
It says the move is essential to cut back ballooning fuel subsidies and reel in the budget deficit amid soaring oil prices.
Indonesia last raised its fuel price by 126 percent in 2005, sparking widespread street protests.
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