Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Hundreds of students from Trisakti University rallied on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, October 29, 2026. The protest took place one day after the action titled "Indonesia Sadar," which was held by several student and civil society alliances the day before at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout, Central Jakarta.
Trisakti University Student Body Vice President Adryansyah Putra revealed why they held a separate protest. "We want yesterday's action to be a long-lasting event," said Adryansyah when met at the demonstration site.
According to Adryansyah, Trisakti students actually participated in the protest at HI Roundabout on October 28. However, they chose not to wear their campus uniforms at that time. After the previous action, Trisakti students conducted separate consolidation and decided to take to the streets again the following day.
Adryansyah hopes the protests will continue and the spirit of resistance brought during the October 28 demonstration will be maintained. "We hope these actions continue, whether from students, the community, and all of Indonesia," he stated.
The Chairperson of the Trisakti Faculty of Law Student Executive Board, Zahra Nazira Firman, said their movement will not stop on the streets. "We will also use other movements to make the government aware of the failure of the Prabowo-Gibran administration over the past two years," she said.
In the October 29 action, Trisakti students initially intended to demonstrate in front of the Presidential Palace on Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara. However, the police blocked their march on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan.
The Trisakti students presented three main demands, which they called the "tritura" or "people's three demands." These demands were restoring the economy, ecology, education, politics, and national health; eradicating incompetence and multiple positions of public officials; and upholding civilian supremacy.
Additionally, the Trisakti students demanded more concrete government policies in addressing national issues. One demand was for the government to declare various ecological disasters, including forest fires, as national disasters.
They also urged officials who failed to address forest fires to be removed from their positions. "We specifically demand that the minister or deputy minister responsible must be dismissed," said Trisakti Student President Dhenni Ribowo.
During the Trisakti students' protest, Binbin Firman Tresnadi, the Special Staff of the Deputy Minister of the State Secretary, came as a representative of the Palace to meet with the protestors. Binbin spoke with the representatives of the masses for about 30 minutes at the demonstration site.
After the discussion, Binbin promised the protestors to meet the students' demands. "I promise that affected communities will be able to access hospitals and medical treatment for free, at no cost," Binbin said.
He also promised to convey the students' demands to evaluate the ministers' performance, including the Minister and Deputy Minister of Forestry. "I promise to convey recommendations for the Minister of Forestry and Deputy Minister to be replaced," he concluded.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2122632/why-trisakti-students-chose-a-different-day-to-protes