Solo DPRD Office Set Ablaze After Night of Protests
Reporter
August 30, 2025 | 04:35 pm
TEMPO.CO, Solo - The building of the Solo Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) in Central Java, Indonesia, was set ablaze by protesters on Friday night, August 29, 2025, following a demonstration earlier in the day at the Regional Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Cavalry Battalion C Pelopor headquarters in Solo.
The fire consumed the DPRD Secretariat building, leaving it completely destroyed. Protesters also targeted the DPRD’s front security post. According to information obtained by Tempo, the Secretariat building was torched in the early hours of Saturday, August 30, at around 02:00 AM. The blaze was brought under control at approximately 04:00 AM.
By 07:00 AM, several council leaders and legislators arrived at the site to inspect the damage. Observations showed that the entire Secretariat building had been gutted. The structure, located near the entrance of the DPRD complex on Jalan Adi Sucipto, was reduced to blackened ruins.
At 07:35 AM, Tempo reporters also noted broken windows in the main Grha Paripurna building, while the front security post had been burned. The nameplates reading “DPRD Surakarta” on both sides of the front gate were destroyed.
“The nameplate by the gate used to be there, but after last night’s events, it’s gone. Photos circulating also show that the lettering was torn down,” said Sekar Tandjung, a Solo City DPRD member from the Golkar Party, on Saturday.
He estimated that most documents and office equipment inside the Secretariat building were lost in the fire. The flames reached as far as the southern section of the building, but fortunately did not spread to the DPRD leadership offices.
“Thankfully, the leadership rooms were not affected. The offices of the Speaker, Deputy Speakers, as well as the commission meeting rooms, remain intact,” Sekar said.
The Grha Paripurna building itself suffered minor damage, limited to shattered glass windows at the front. “The broken windows were hit by projectiles. If you look around, there are still many stones from last night’s incident,” Sekar explained.
In the aftermath, crowds of residents visited the DPRD complex to see the damage firsthand, taking photos and videos with their phones.
The unrest followed a protest earlier on Friday involving hundreds of online motorcycle taxi (ojol) drivers at the Brimob Battalion C Pelopor headquarters in Solo.
The demonstration was held in solidarity with Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old ojol driver who was killed in Jakarta after being struck by a Brimob tactical vehicle during protests. What began as a peaceful action later descended into riots.
Editor’s Choice: Seven Police Personnel Probed Over Death of Ojol Driver in Jakarta Protest
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
