Yogi Ernes, Jakarta – Police arrested scores of Papuan student at a May Day rally in Central Jakarta earlier today on the ground that they did not have a permit to demonstrate.
"Yes, 15 people were secured and taken to the Metro Jaya regional police [headquarters]. They wanted to protest without a permit", said Metro Jaya regional police spokesperson Senior Commissioner Yusri Yunus when contacted by Detik.com on Saturday May 1.
The students were arrested as they marched past the US Embassy on Jl Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta earlier this afternoon. They were then taken to the Metro Jaya headquarters.
According to Yunus, when they were questioned by officers at the location, the Papuan students were unable to produce a permit for the action.
Yunus said that the 15 students were not carrying any suspicious objects and because of this they have now been sent home. "We've now sent them home. Earlier we just collected data on them", said Yunus.
May Day 2021 commemorations in Jakarta were centred on the Horse Statue area of Central Jakarta. Thousands of workers from various different trade unions took to the streets to convey their aspirations.
The workers took up a number of demands, one of which was cancelling the Job Creation Law which they say harms workers. (ygs/mea)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Polisi Amankan 15 Mahasiswa Papua di Demo Hari Buruh di Jakarta".]
