Government Of Indonesia Plan To Raise Fuel Price Sparks Protests

JAKARTA, March 28 (Bernama) -- Thousands of people representing various community groups demonstrated Tuesday here and in several other cities in the country in protest against a government plan to raise the price of subsidised fuel by 1,500 rupees (US$0.16) next month. The police had arranged for the various groups to stage the protests in turn to avert clashes and facilitate maintenance of public order by the security forces. Many of the demonstrations were peaceful, but there were several incidents of clashes between protesters and the police, leading to policemen firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. A spokesman for one group of demonstrators, Muhammad Ismail Yustanto, said any increase in fuel prices or withdrawal of subsidies would only benefit foreign oil companies in the long term. The House of Representatives postponed to Thursday its scheduled meeting Tuesday to discuss the government's decision to raise the fuel price. -- BERNAMA