Mochammad Iqbal Maulud – Students from various universities affiliated with the West Java chapter of the All-Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM SI) staged a protest titled "Indonesia in a State of Emergency" (Indonesia Gawat Darurat) on Friday September 11.
Cantered at the intersection of Jalan Ir. H. Djuanda (Dago) and Cikapayang in Bandung, the demonstration caused traffic in the area to become congested.
Based on observations on the ground, the protesters, some of whom came from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), gathered first and delivered speeches at the Kubus Park located directly in front of the campus grounds. Following this, they marched on foot to the Cikapayang intersection.
Upon arriving, the students formed a circle and took turns delivering political speeches. Police officers and military personnel (TNI) stood by to provide security and manage traffic around the site to prevent the congestion from worsening.
The protesters demanded that the central government immediately address various issues, one of which was the disasters currently affecting the nation. They also urged the government to temporarily halt priority programs such as the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) and the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) programs.
A representative from the ITB protesters, Fadhil Fatih, revealed that the protest action reflected the students disappointment with the direction of the government. Moreover, the action coincided with the "Black September" (September Hitam) period of reflection.
"We demand the government be accountable for what is happening in the nation today. Indeed, aside from the momentum of Black September when there have been many human rights violations that have occurred we are also highlighting the state of the nation being managed by the government", said Fatih on the sidelines of the demonstration.
Aside from the ITB, representatives were present from the West Java chapter of BEM SI, the Indonesian Computer University (Unikom), the Indonesia University of Education (UPI) and several other educational institutions.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aksi Mahasiswa Bandung Digelar, Lalu Lintas Dago Cikapayang Tersendat".]
