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Six injured as protesters try to ram police with Unimog trucks

Six protesters and one policeman were injured on Thursday during a rally held by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto prior to the Constitutional Court’s reading of its verdict on the 2014 presidential election dispute

Yuliasri Perdani (The Jakarta Post)
Bandung
Fri, August 22, 2014

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Six injured as protesters try to ram police with Unimog trucks

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ix protesters and one policeman were injured on Thursday during a rally held by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto prior to the Constitutional Court'€™s reading of its verdict on the
2014 presidential election dispute.

The protest turned ugly when more than 6,000 people attempted to force their way through barbed-wire barricades isolating areas surrounding the court'€™s compound on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta.

It was not until the protesters mobilized three Mercedes-Benz multi-purpose Unimog medium-duty trucks at around 2 p.m. to ram the barricades that the police started firing water cannons and tear gas at the unruly crowd.

The measures sparked a minor stampede, causing some female protesters to fall unconscious.

Six protesters were rushed to the Gatot Subroto Army Central Hospital (RSPAD) and Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta. One police officer was rushed to a nearby medical clinic to treat a back injury.

'€œThree Unimog trucks have been confiscated from the scene as they were used by the protesters to ram our barricades. We'€™re still identifying the owners of the vehicles,'€ said Central Jakarta police chief Sr. Comr. Hendro Pandowo.

'€œThe Jakarta Police will file charges against the owners,'€ he said.

As many as 3,900 police and military personnel, armed with tear gas and water cannons, managed to prevent thousands of Prabowo supporters from entering the court compound.

The authorities managed to control the situation around 6 p.m., as the crowd left after the court adjourned the reading of its 300-page verdict for maghrib (dusk prayers).

Less than 100 protesters returned to continue the rally.

Meanwhile, Prabowo'€™s flag-waving supporters began rallying at the camp'€™s campaign headquarters at Polonia House, East Jakarta since 10 a.m.

Before arriving at locations near the court compound, the protesters rallied around the Religious Affairs Ministry building on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta '€” where the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) read out its ruling on alleged election violations filed separately by the Prabowo camp.

The crowd then gathered around a traffic circle located less than a kilometer away before moving to the court'€™s compound.

Some protesters were seen attempting to climb the fences at the adjacent Bank Indonesia headquarters, prompting the central bank'€™s security personnel to tighten security and shut three of its
four gates.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that most of the protestors had not filed any reports on their planned protests to the police. Only Prabowo supporters from the Kompak group had informed the police of their plan to protest, Rikwanto said.

'€œAround 6,000 protesters arrived, at most. Some of them were labor union members,'€ he said.

Rikwanto said that the rally only resulted in minor incidents because the police had closely monitored protestors from outside of Jakarta attempting to enter the city.

'€œSupporters found to have the intention of igniting a riot or carrying dangerous weapons were prevented from entering Jakarta,'€ he said.

Aside from implementing maximum security measures around the court, 21,000 police and 10,000 military personnel were dispatched to safeguard public facilities, government offices and business centers around the capital, according to National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie.

No major incidents occurred in other areas of the country.

In Medan, North Sumatra '€” where Prabowo gained a slim victory in the election '€” protests were largely carried out peacefully.

The police handed out oranges to protesters to help ease tensions.

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, only a handful of Prabowo supporters were seen holding a brief rally in front of the province'€™s local election office.

South Sulawesi Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Endi Sutendi said that security in the province was generally favorable.

Several police personnel were seen guarding the residence and property of vice president-elect
Jusuf Kalla. (fss)

'€” Arya Dipa and Andi
Hajramurni also contributed to this story.

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