Andi Adam Faturahman, Jakarta – Hundreds of students from Indonesian Student Executive Board Alliance (BEM SI) staged a protest in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Senayan, Central Jakarta. They arrived after conducting a long march from Jalan Gerbang Pemuda.
Based on Tempo's observation, the BEM SI alliance arrived in front of the DPR building at 4.30 PM, more than three hours behind the scheduled time of 1.00 PM WIB (Indonesian Western Time).
"We demand that the President revoke the accusation of treason against the student movement," said the Central Coordinator of BEM SI, Muzammil Ihsan, while delivering a speech in front of the DPR building on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
He mentioned that instead of evaluating the policies and attitudes of his aides, Prabowo tried to discredit the student and people's movements by accusing them of treason.
According to Muzammil, what Prabowo expressed was not intended to calm people's anger, but rather to fuel it due to the government's lack of empathy and justice.
"President Prabowo is just all talk. He says he accepts the aspirations, but detains our friends who are protesting," he said.
On September 1 at the RS Polri Kramat Jati, Prabowo considered the burning of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) building in South Sulawesi, which claimed the lives of four state civil servants, as an act of treason.
"Innocent people, non-political individuals, became victims. The DPRD building was burned, this is an act of treason, not an expression of aspiration," said Prabowo.
On August 30, 2025, Prabowo summoned National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo and Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) General Agus Subiyanto to his residence in Hambalang, Bogor Regency, West Java.
In the meeting, Prabowo ordered strict enforcement against the protesters who acted in a vandalistic manner.
Meanwhile, the protests held from August 25 to September 1 demanded the revocation of the exorbitant allowances of the DPR members and claimed the lives of 10 victims across Indonesia.
One of the fatal victims was Affan Kurniawan, an online motorcycle taxi driver in Jakarta. Affan died after being run over by a National Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle on Jalan Penjernihan, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
According to Muzammil Ihsan, the death of Affan and nine others is the responsibility of the state. The series of protests that occurred was triggered by the state's conditions that are not in line with justice for the people.
The problem is that, instead of taking responsibility, the President labeled the student protests with unfounded accusations. "Please see our actions directly, Pak President. We are protesting peacefully, and reject any acts of anarchy," said Muzammil.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2046214/bem-si-demands-prabowo-to-revoke-treason-label-on-student-protest