T

he police have released 50 protesters detained for allegedly inciting violence during massive rallies against raising fuel prices on March 30.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that the police released the detainees on Monday after a coalition of university students met with chief Insp. Gen. Untung S. Rajab earlier in the day.

He added that the protesters had been released on the condition that they report to police regularly.

The police initially refused to release them pending trial, arguing their actions were “too violent and caused too much destruction”.

Two other university students remain in custody under suspicion of being the main perpetrators of the destruction of a police car and motorcycle, which were set on fire.

“These two people are suspected of provoking the riot,” Rikwanto told reporters, referring to the protest-turn-riot in Salemba, Central Jakarta.

Police are also investigating four acid attacks during a rally outside the House of Representatives compound on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta, in which three journalists and three police officers were severely injured.

The journalists worked for JakTV, Reuters and BBC.

Preliminary investigations have determined that the perpetrators of the acid attacks were not protesters, but “unidentified provocateurs joining the rally specifically to provoke violence and chaos”, according to the Jakarta Police spokesman.

“The suspects were not among those participating in the rally to voice their aspirations, but others who used the opportunity to meet a particular agenda,” Rikwanto said at a press briefing in his office on Monday.

During the rally, the police confiscated 20 Molotov cocktails and 10 larger containers of fuel, allegedly intended to be thrown and to set fires to create chaos during the protest.

Police have alleged that several NGOs and student organizations with unknown political agendas may have been behind the provocations.

“This can be seen by the fact that the arrested protesters came from afar, such as Kendari, Jambi, Jombang, Cirebon, Bandung and Indramayu,” Rikwanto said. “From the beginning, these people were invited to Jakarta specifically to incite riots.”

According to Rikwanto, only the JakTV television reporter had filed a report with the police on the acid attacks. “We encourage journalists and protesters who attended the rally to report to the police if they have any clues that could lead us to the suspects,” he said. (sat)