Students, workers protest new Indonesian law

Thousands of Indonesian students and workers protested on Wednesday against a new law they say will cripple labor rights and harm the environment, with some clashing with police.

Demonstrations took place across the West Java and Banten provinces including in Jakarta’s satellite cities of Tangerang and Bekasi where large factories are located.

The protest in Bekasi turned violent in the afternoon, with a video obtained by The Associated Press showing a student collapsing three meters (yards) from a police barricade after a gunshot was heard.

Other students carried him away, and his condition was unclear.

National Police spokesman Argo Yuwono said riot police used only tear gas and rubber bullets in dispersing the protesters.

He said authorities are still investigating the violence in Bekasi in which both students and police were injured.

Police in the capital, Jakarta, prevented labor groups from holding a mass rally in front of Parliament.

The new Job Creation Law, which was approved Monday, is expected to bring radical changes to Indonesia’s labor system and natural resources management.

It amended 79 previous laws, including the Labor Law, the Spatial Planning Law and Environmental Management Law.

It is intended to improve bureaucratic efficiency and cut red tape as part of efforts by President Joko Widodo's administration to attract more investment in the vast archipelago nation, home to more than 270 million people.

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