Protest about fuel prices

JAKARTA, June 1 (Reuters) - A militant Islamic group held rallies in several big Indonesian cities on Sunday, protesting against the government's decision to raise fuel prices last month, Reuters witnesses and local media reported.

The government has raised fuel prices by an average of 28.7 percent in a bid to save billions of dollars in fuel subsidies.

Even so, Indonesia still has some of the lowest fuel prices in Asia, while the government is providing some $1.5 billion of cash handouts to poor families to cushion the blow.

On Sunday, more than 500 supporters of hardline Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, including women and children, gathered in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta urging the government to reverse the fuel price increase and nationalise foreign oil and gas companies.

"We reject the decision of the government because the increase in fuel prices will trigger more suffering," Ismail Yusanto, spokesman of Hizbut Tahrir, told the crowd.

Members of Hizbut Tahrir also rallied in several other big cities across the country, including Surabaya in Java, Medan in Sumatra, Pontianak in Kalimantan, and Makassar in Sulawesi, according to local television reports.

The government's decision to jack up fuel prices has sparked several protests in recent weeks. (Reporting by Telly Nathalia, editing by Sara Webb)

from : uk.reuters.com