Thousands of students, workers protest new Indonesian law

BANDUNG, Indonesia (AP) — 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.

Authorities in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, blocked streets leading to the local parliament building and city hall, where clashes between rock-throwing students and riot police broke out late Tuesday when police tried to disperse the protesters.

On Wednesday, more than 3,000 protesters, including workers and high school and university students, attempted to reach the heavily guarded parliament building. Protesters set fires to tires near blocked streets.

Smaller protests also occurred in other Indonesian cities, including in Jakarta’s satellite cities of Tangerang and Bekasi where large factories are located, and many cities on Sumatra and Sulawesi islands.

Thousands of workers from factories in West Java’s Karawang city and Serang town in Banten province also protested outside their factories.

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.

Seven parties in the House of Representatives approved the legislation while two others rejected it, with their members walking out of the plenary session.

The...