Protesters ‘picnic’ outside Indonesian parliament on national holiday

There were small, peaceful protests outside the Indonesian parliament on Friday afternoon, following more than a week of sometimes violent demonstrations, as the Muslim-majority country celebrated a holiday marking the Prophet Mohammad's birthday. Students gathered for a "picnic protest", with poetry and book readings as they criticised politicians' benefits and called for the release of detained protesters and a withdrawal of military personnel from civil security duty. "We have a picnic together, show our expression creatively, innovatively ... we don't just shout angrily, but we have a cool, creative approach to express our anger," Vincent Thomas, a student leader from Padjadjaran University, said in a speech broadcast on Kompas TV. Last week, protesters including students, workers and rights groups took...