Kayla Hill – On 11th November, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto arrived in Sydney for an official visit to Australia. The federal government is hosting Prabowo days after he officially named former dictator and his former father-in-law Suharto a national hero.
Following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to Indonesia for the Australia-Indonesia Annual Leaders' Meeting in May, Prabowo is making his first visit to Australia since his election as President.
Albanese has indicated his hope to "[build] on our previous discussions about how we can develop the strength and depth of our bilateral relationship". He said "Australia and Indonesia share a deep trust and unbreakable bond as neighbours, partners and friends".
On 12th November, the Prime Minister and President jointly announced a renewed treaty between Australia and Indonesia. Prabowo described the agreement as "committing ourselves to close cooperation in the defence and security field." In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Penny Wong said "It is important we recognise... we have common interests when it comes to our security."
A central focus of the talks will also likely include increasing live exports of Australian cattle to Indonesia and support for Prabowo's Makan Bergizi Gratis (Free Nutritious Meals Program), which has reached over 60 million children but has come with significant safety concerns including large-scale food poisoning.
In response to Prabowo's visit, Sydney-based human rights organisation Indonesian Solidarity commented "We in Australia stand on the side of those struggling for democracy and human rights in Indonesia today."
Indonesian diaspora and allies gathered at Sydney Town Hall on 12th November to protest Prabowo's arrival.
Prabowo's term has also attracted controversy regarding the Minister for Culture's public denial of serious violations of human rights in 1998, and large-scale deforestation enacted during his term [or date] as part of the 'food estate' program.
Nationwide protests broke out against the Prabowo government in August this year following the introduction of $4,650 housing allowances for Indonesian parliamentarians amid burgeoning wealth inequality.
During a crackdown on these protests, police ran over and killed Affan Kurniawan, a 21 year old motorcycle taxi driver. The heavy police response also saw several instances of tear gas, rubber bullets, and real bullets being deployed against demonstrators, including on university campuses.
Since the protests, 959 suspects have been charged, including 295 minors. The University of Sydney (USyd) Students' Representative Council passed a motion in support of Indonesian protestors at the September Council meeting.
In light of this, Suharto's new status as national hero has sparked further backlash. Suharto took power during the mass killings of 1965-1966, remaining in power for 30 years. His presidency was marked by corruption, police brutality, and occupation in East Timor, West Papua, and Aceh.
Before entering politics, Prabowo was himself a central figure in the Indonesian military and has been identified as a perpetrator of serious human rights violations during the New Order military dictatorship (1965-1998).
Just some of the accusations against Prabowo include kidnapping and torturing pro-democracy activists in the late 1990s, leading a brutal campaign in 1996 against villagers in the Papuan highlands and involvement in the September 1983 Kraras massacre in Timor Leste, wherein 300 civilians were murdered.
Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said: "that the Australian government has received Prabowo as a legitimate head of state says a lot about the Albanese government." Rintoul highlighted "the complicity of the Australian government in supporting various brutal dictatorships in Indonesia."
Nick Dobrijevich, a researcher at USyd, also spoke to Honi Soit.
"Such a long history of connection between our two nations is largely the result of links built in the 1940s by ordinary people in Australia who supported Indonesia's struggle for national liberation against the Dutch colonial regime," he said.
Source: https://honisoit.com/2025/11/indonesian-students-and-diaspora-call-out-prabowo-during-sydney-visit