Responding to President Prabowo Subianto's statement that the Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia) protests in February 2025 were financed by corruptors, Amnesty International Indonesia Deputy Director Wirya Adiwena said:
"The President's statement is a clear attack on freedom of expression and the right of citizens to voice legitimate and peaceful protests. It is an attempt to delegitimise the civil society movements by making baseless claims to the wider public. Prabowo's statements are not based on any credible evidence.
"Such tactics are similar to those employed by President Donald Trump in the United States, who frequently spreads misinformation about asylum seekers and migrant groups to delegitimise their rights.
"This isn't the first time the president has painted critical voices from the public in a bad light. Previously, Prabowo also attacked the credibility of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), accusing them of serving foreign interests and inciting discord when civil society monitors the government. Rather than listening to and responding to the substance of public criticism, the president instead chooses to attack the motives and credibility of his critics.
"Furthermore, the president's persistent accusations against NGOs, activists and the civil society movements could delegitimise public criticism and unrest over social conditions and government policies. This creates a dangerous narrative, as if anyone who criticises the state is an enemy, a foreign stooge, or an accomplice of corruption. This is the typical rhetoric of authoritarian regimes that fear transparency and public accountability.
"The President must immediately stop making baseless claims about the civil society movement and ensure and provide the widest possible access for the public to voice legitimate and peaceful criticism in Indonesia."
Background
During a speech at the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) Congress in Solo on Sunday (July 20), President Prabowo alluded to civil society movements such as the Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia) demonstrations and the hashtag #KaburAjaDulu (Just Run Away). Prabowo accused these actions of being engineered and funded by corruptors.
In his speech, the president alluded to efforts by parties who used technology, money, social media, paid experts and the use of insinuation to foster pessimism. "I shake my head. There are people who pose as smart people, as leaders, but what they spread is pessimism. Indonesia is dark, just run away. Just run away!", Prabowo said.
"And it turns out this was a fabrication. It was fabricated, paid for. By whom? By those who want Indonesia to always be in turmoil. For Indonesia to always be poor. Those corruptors are the ones financing the demonstrations. Indonesia is dark... Indonesia is dark. Sorry yeah, Indonesia is bright, Indonesia's future is bright!", Prabowo continued.
According to media reports, this is at least the second time Prabowo has mentioned the Dark Indonesia protests. Previously, during a speech at the Democratic Party Congress in Jakarta on February 25, he questioned the origin of the phrase "Dark Indonesia". "Sisters and brother who are young, who sees a dark Indonesia?", Prabowo asked at the time.
Dark Indonesia was the theme of a series of student and civil society demonstrations in various cities across Indonesia from February 17-21. At the time, the hashtag #IndonesiaGelap also went viral on social media.
The series of demonstrations highlighted the various controversies sparked by the regime of President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka during their first 100 days in office, which began on October 20, 2024.
The protesters also rejected several government policies, particularly those related to budget efficiency cuts and revisions of the Mineral and Coal Mining Law (UU Minerba) on mining concessions for universities, as well as pushing for the ratification of the Asset Confiscation Law (UU Perampasan Aset).
In early 2025, netizens on the social media platform X also enlivened online conversations with the hashtag #KaburAjaDulu, in the form of a discourse on leaving Indonesia as an expression of disappointment in concert with the many criticisms of the Prabowo government's policies that are not pro-people.
This represents the umpteenth time Prabowo has made statements that have painted the civil society movement in a bad light. During a speech commemorating Pancasila Day on June 2 in Jakarta, he alleged that foreign powers were funding NGOs to play people off against each other.
"For hundreds of years they've been pitting us against each other, to this day, with money, they fund NGOs to pit us against each other. They say they are upholders of democracy, human rights, press freedom, yet that's actually their own version of it", Prabowo said at the time.
- Prabowo claims anti-government demos in early 2025 funded by corruptors. CNN Indonesia – July 20, 2025
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Presiden harus berhenti mendelegitimasi gerakan masyarakat sipil".]
