Anarchy and Police Brutality: May Day 2019 in Bandung, Indonesia (photo essay)

A police officer approached me and asked, ‘why are you wearing a helmet?’ I returned the question, ‘why are you wearing a helmet?’ He replied that it was ‘for safety’. ‘Same here, for safety’ I nodded. ‘Safety from whom?’ asked the cop. ‘Safety from you’ I replied, and then he was gone.

This photo essay by Frans Ari Prasetyo provides a vivid depiction of the scale and energy of the May Day 2019 black bloc demonstration in Bandung, Indonesia, and the brutality of the ensuing police repression.

Anarchy and Police Brutality: May Day 2019 in Bandung, Indonesia (photo essay)