At least 20 people are missing after protests

At least 20 people are missing following violent protests that have rocked Indonesia for a week, a local human rights organization said Tuesday.

“After searches and checks, 20 people remain missing,” the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) said in a statement.

The protests began on August 25 in Jakarta, when a salary increase was announced for Indonesian parliamentarians, amid severe economic hardship for a large portion of the population.

The demonstrations intensified after the death of a motorcycle taxi driver in the capital on Thursday, who was run over by a police car, and so far have left six people dead.

KontraS said the 20 people went missing in Jakarta and the cities of Bandung and Depok, the latter located near the capital, as well as in an "unknown location."

Thousands of people protested again on Monday in several Indonesian cities , and the army was deployed to the streets of Jakarta . More protests are expected throughout the country on Tuesday.

On Monday, the UN Human Rights Office called on Indonesian authorities to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of information and expression in anti-government protests in the country, where at least 1,240 people have been detained.

"We emphasize the importance of dialogue to address citizens' concerns," Cabinet spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement, stressing that authorities must ensure the maintenance of order "in accordance with international norms and standards."

"All security forces, including the Army when deployed for law enforcement purposes, must comply with basic principles on the use of force and firearms," ​​the spokeswoman said.

Shamdasani also called for an investigation into alleged violations of international law due to the excessive use of force during the protests.

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said today that "Indonesian authorities acted irresponsibly in treating the protests as acts of treason or terrorism, especially given the security forces' long history of using excessive and unnecessary force against protesters."

"Security forces must respond to protest violence in accordance with United Nations standards, which limit the use of force to the minimum necessary," the leader argued.

In addition to addressing the broader economic issues, authorities need to impartially investigate and appropriately punish all those responsible for the violence,” Ganguly added.