The Labour Movement with the People (GEBRAK) strongly condemns the repressive actions by police in handling a peaceful demonstration to commemorate the 27th anniversary of reformasi held by Trisakti University students on Tuesday May 21 in front of the Jakarta City Hall.
The action, which was held to commemorate 27 years of reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998 – and to remember the deaths of four Trisakti University students in the 1998 reform struggle, actually resulted in arbitrary arrests In addition to arresting 93 students without a clear legal basis, the Metro Jaya Regional Police have even named 16 students as suspects on disproportionate and excessive charges.
The clash at the demonstration occurred after authorities blocked students who were about to convey their aspirations at City Hall. This repressive action reflects the decline of democracy, where space for expression and commemorating humanitarian tragedies are silenced through violence and criminalisation.
GEBRAK spokesperson Sunar said, "We consider [the police's] actions not only to violate the rights to freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed under Article 28E of the 1945 Constitution and Law Number 9/1998, but also a form of silencing efforts to remember the history of the people's struggle against the authoritarian New Order [regime of former president Suharto], something that is actually the foundation of reformasi and democracy today. The criminalisation of this action is a real manifestation of the decay of the values of reformasi".
The arrested students are now being investigated using Criminal Code (KUHP) articles that are often used to silence critical voices, such as Article 160 (incitement to commit a crime), Article 170 (violence against people/property in public), Article 351 (assault) and Articles 212, 216 and 218 (resisting officers, disobeying orders to disband).
It needs to be remembered that this arbitrary treatment is not an isolated incident. This repression and criminalisation is a continuation of the same pattern against the 25 participants of the May Day 2025 actions in the cities of Jakarta, Bandung and Semarang on May 1, as well as dozens of others who held protests throughout the month of May. This shows that the state is increasingly showing an authoritarian face and is allergic to critical voices from social movements.
GEBRAK therefore:
- Strongly condemns the repressive actions of the police and the criminalisation of students who are exercising their constitutional rights to express their opinions peacefully.
- Demands that the Metro Jaya Regional Police immediately release all students who are still being detained and revoke the suspect status of 15 students who are being criminalised simply for commemorating the struggle for reformasi.
- Urges the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to investigate allegations of human rights violations and violence by officers in handling the action.
- Demands full accountability from senor state officials, namely Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo and Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Agus Subiyanto for all forms of violence and criminalisation that occurred against students in this action.
- Calls on all elements of civil society, workers, farmers, academics, student organisations and the wider public to express solidarity with the students and reject the increasingly apparent practice of authoritarianism.
Jakarta, 24 Mei 2025
Labour Movement with the People (GEBRAK) Collective
Contact persons:
+62 812 8064 6029 (Sunar)
+62 823-3918-3098 (Jlow)
+62 857-1481-2122 (Yahya)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mengecam Tindakan Represif Aparat dan Kriminalisasi terhadap Mahasiswa dalam Aksi Peringatan 27 Tahun Reformasi".]
