Protesters against Indonesia military law clash with police in Surabaya

SURABAYA – A violent clash broke out on March 24 in the Indonesian metropolis of Surabaya between police and demonstrators protesting against the country’s newly passed military law, AFP journalists witnessed.

Around 1,000 students and activists dressed in black participated in the protest in front of an East Java government building.

Holding posters that said “Reject the military law”, and “The military should return to the barracks”, protesters hurled rocks, sticks and Molotov cocktails towards police controlling the demonstration.

Police eventually used water cannon to disperse the protesters at around 7pm local time.

“We received information that 25 people are being detained right now, but... we are still unable to give legal assistance to them,” Mr Fatkhul Khoir, a human rights activist from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, told AFP.

He said that some of the protesters taken to the police office looked bruised.

The police did not respond to AFP’s request for comments.

The Indonesian Parliament approved the amendment of the military law on March 20, despite protests that the legislation will expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs.

The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, is aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defence in a country long influenced by its powerful armed forces.

The new law allows active military officers to hold a position in 14 government institutions without resigning, an increase from 10 institutions in the previous law.

It has sparked fears of a return to the era of late dictator Suharto, under whom Mr Prabowo, a former general, once served and which saw military figures used to crack down on dissent.

Rights groups have said the change will enable officials to fill