Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia will more than double the average cost of fuel Saturday in an effort to prevent an economic crisis, despite protests by thousands of demonstrators.
Some protesters burned tires and threw rocks at riot police who responded by firing tear gas and warning shots into the air.
More rallies were expected, and the government deployed thousands of soldiers and police at major intersections, the presidential palace and other strategic locations.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the cash- strapped government, which for years has subsidized fuel to let motorists fill up for less than 95 cents per gallon and help protect Indonesia’s poorest, could not afford to keep doing so amid spiraling global oil prices.
The government said the cost of gasoline will go up 87 percent, the price of diesel fuel will more than double and that of kerosene will nearly triple.
After the increase, gasoline will cost $1.71 per gallon.
The increases will push up the price of everything from rice to fish to cigarettes in the sprawling country, a major oil producer with 220 million people, half of whom live on less than $2 a day.
