President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia said on Sunday that the country's House of Representatives had agreed to some policy changes that protesters across the country had been demanding over a week of demonstrations.

Thousands of protesters in several major Indonesian cities have been rallying since Monday in response to the country's increasing cost of living and rising unemployment rate. Demonstrators demanded that the government cancel the high monthly housing allowances that lawmakers received, which many in the country see as lavish.

In a news conference on Sunday, Prabowo acknowledged "the genuine aspirations of the public" and announced that the House of Representatives would cut allowances for national lawmakers. He also said it would put a moratorium on expensive overseas trips.

Prabowo did not specify if he was referring to the allowances for housing, which are just one of several stipends that lawmakers get. And he did not offer any guarantees that his government would follow through. But the concessions may assuage some protesters' grievances. He initially responded to the recent protests by directing the Indonesian military and police "to take firm action" when it came to "anarchic actions", according to Indonesia's national police chief, Listyo Sigit Prabowo.

In the President's speech on Sunday, he echoed those comments, saying "we cannot deny that signs of extrajudicial, even unlawful, actions are beginning to emerge, some even leading to treason and terrorism".

Prabowo's announcement came after rioters on Sunday directed their rage at the homes of lawmakers and government officials, ransacking, vandalising and looting the properties. He said the heads of various political parties told him that they would expel the lawmakers who had mocked the protesters.

New York Times News Service