Demonstrator injured as anti-Yudhoyono protests hit Indonesia

An Indonesian student has been shot and wounded during a protest against President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday. Similar clashes erupted elsewhere in Jakarta and other towns on the main island of Java.

Reuters/Beawiharta

About 2,000 protesters threw stones and sticks and police fired tear gas shells outside Indonesia's presidential palace on the first anniversary of Yudhoyono’s swearing-in for a second term in office. Three people were arrested, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper.

There were clashes on other demonstrations in several districts of Jakarta and other towns such as Bandung, Surabaya, Palu and Bogor.

Other protests were reported from the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar where about 1,000 protesters set fire to cars and briefly held hostage a police officer.

It was the second day of violent unrest in Makassar, where demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police when Yudhoyono visited the town on Tuesday.

The president's popularity rankings have slumped despite strong economic growth.

His opponents accuse the government of corruption and incompetence across all levels of state. Yudhoyono had promised to eradicate those problems during his second term.

Yudhoyono called on the protesters to express their dissent through legal and democratic means.