Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Saturday canceled a planned trip to China as days of protests spread further outside the capital Jakarta, with several regional parliament buildings set ablaze.

Prabowo had been due to attend a “Victory Day” parade in China on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two following Japan’s formal surrender.

The protests, the first major test for Prabowo’s nearly year-old government, began in Jakarta this week 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 on Saturday.

“Therefore, the president apologizes to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation.”

Read Full Article

Continue reading the complete article on the original source