Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has cancelled a trip to China, as deadly antigovernment protests spread outside the capital, and social media platform TikTok suspended its live feature, citing concerns over the “increasing violence” in the Southeast Asian country.
The announcement by Prabowo’s spokesman came on Saturday as Indonesian authorities said that at least three people were killed in an arson attack on a parliament building in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province, on the previous day.
The protests mark the first major test for Prabowo’s nearly year-old government. They began in Jakarta on Monday over lawmakers’ pay and worsened after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle rider.
“The president wants to continue monitoring [the situation in Indonesia] directly… and seek the best solutions,” presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement.
“Therefore, the president apologises to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation.”
Prabowo had been due to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China’s Tianjin as well as a “Victory Day” parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Indonesia’s Prabowo scraps China trip over protests, TikTok halts live feed
