Jakarta – Students from various campuses in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Makassar will hold simultaneous demonstrations today, Tuesday October 20, to coincide with two-years of the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
In Jakarta, University of Indonesia (UI) students are scheduled to hold a demonstration at the Farmers Monument in Central Jakarta at 3 pm. One of the demands of the masses is to urge the government to declare the forest and land fires a national disaster.
"Demanding the government declare forest and land fires (karhutla) and floods as national disasters, guarantee and restore the health of citizens, prosecute and revoke the permits of the corporations responsible for this crisis", said UI Student Executive Board (BEM) Chairperson Yathalathof Imawan when contacted on Monday October 19.
Imawan did not deny that there were crucial issues regarding the polemic about Vice President Gibran's diploma and the discourse on his impeachment. However, he said that the protesters would focus on the demands of the people in the regions, especially on reducing the cost of living, which is becoming increasingly expensive.
"More towards now, many people in the regional and central areas are suffering. The focus needs to be adjusted, Kak [older sister/brother], so we're focusing on welfare, what we are not talking about is wealth", continued Imawan.
Meanwhile, other demands expressed by the masses of students during the two-year demonstration of the Prabowo-Gibran government were as follows:
1. Demanding that the government improve economic policy governance and restore market confidence
2. On restrictions to freedom of expression
3. On widespread corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) practices
4. Reducing the costs of expensive education, health and public services, and providing equitable access
Previously, police tightened security at a number of commuter line (KRL) stations and the Merak-Jakarta toll gate ahead of the demonstrations marking two years of the Prabowo-Gibran regime that will take place at a number of points in Jakarta.
Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police Chief Commissioner General Dadang Hartanto emphasised that expressing opinions is a citizen's right which must be respected and facilitated. He said that the presence of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police (Polri) in the community is a service to ensure that every citizen can exercise their rights and pursue their activities safely.
The thousands of personnel deployed in Jakarta consisted of 7,660 police personnel, 1,540 TNI personnel, 135 Jakarta regional government personnel and 170 internal security personnel (Pamdal).
Students descend on Yogya parliament
Thousands of participants in demonstrations marking two years of the Prabowo-Gibran government stormed the Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY) Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD) offices in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Tuesday afternoon.
The protesters arrived in turns starting at around 12 noon.
Initially, dozens of action participants from the Islamic Student Association (HMI) came and voiced their aspirations through speeches from command vehicle.
In speeches, one of the things the protesters criticised was the government's disaster management and post-disaster recovery efforts which they considered to not be serious.
"The wounds have not yet healed a year since the Sumatra [flood and landslide] disaster, plus the NTT [East Nusa Tenggara] earthquake, now karhutla. We here have agreed here to open the rulers' eyes", said one of the speakers.
Another speaker also criticised the government's slow response to resolving the problem of forest and land fires, so that now people are living in anxiety.
"Our sisters and brothers in Kalimantan, their forests are being burned, they live in areas that are uninhabitable but the people are told to adapt", shouted the speaker.
In the midst of efforts to handle disasters that are considered chaotic, the protesters were increasingly disappointed by the emergence of an alleged corruption cases at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).
This alleged corruption was uncovered by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) through a sting operation (OTT) in October related to the misuse of Ready-to-Use Funds (DSP) for emergency disaster management.
DSP is a budget prepared by the government to support handling disaster emergencies. Funds are used in various situations, including the forest and land fires in Kalimantan and Papua, earthquakes in NTT and sporadic floods in Sumatra.
In the middle of the speeches by HMI students, hundreds of protesters arrived carrying a banner reading "Yogyakarta Resists" (Yogyakarta Melawan). This was followed by more students from the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) Student Executive Board wearing blue alma mater jackets.
Arguments broke out several times between the groups of protesters. However, it is not yet clear what the trigger was.
Meanwhile, UII students also brought a number of demands to the protest including, among other things, a total evaluation of the response to forest and land fires and accelerating the recovery of affected communities.
Then, a moratorium, evaluation and transparency in national strategic programs, especially the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) and Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) programs and demanding regulations for the procurement, governance and transparency of subsidised fuel in every region in Indonesia.
Next, demanding improvements to the government's communication patterns, especially the President's communication, which often demeans the ordinary people, and restructuring and downsizing the bloated cabinet for the sake of bureaucratic efficiency and the state budget.
Then, ending militarism in various forms, especially military involvement in the civilian realm, and upholding the human rights justice process for 13 incidents of past gross human rights violations.
During the action, the protesters insisted on meeting legislative representatives. After a while, DPRD DIY Speaker Nuryadi appeared and said he would forward the students' aspirations to the central government.
As of this afternoon, the demonstration was still proceeding in a conducive manner, with security from hundreds of police officers.
33 demo points in Makassar
As many as three thousand joint TNI and police personnel along with related agencies were deployed to secure the two-year Prabowo-Gibran leadership demonstrations spread across 33 points in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
"Yes, there are a combined three thousand personnel deployed", Makassar Metropolitan District Police (Polrestabes) public relations head Deputy Police Commissioner Jaffar Ahmad told CNN Indonesia on Tuesday.
The number of action points in Makassar, said Ahmad, was spread across 33 points, including in front of the temporary office of the South Sulawesi DPRD, Jalan AP Pettarani and Jalan Urip Sumiharjo.
"It's estimated that there will be 33 demonstration points today, such as at the South Sulawesi DPRD, at the flyover bridge, on Jalan Sultan Alauddin, Jalan Perintis Independen and several points in front of the student campuses", he said.
To anticipate traffic jams, Ahmad said drivers can look for alternative routes so they don't get stuck in the crowd of vehicles later.
"The public should avoid places used by students who express their aspirations", he said. (knf/kum/mir/dal)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Demo 20 Oktober Serentak di Jakarta, Yogya dan Makassar".]