Poki: For my birthday, have you read the list of presents I want?
Father: That's a lot? Hmm, normative.
Poki: Normative, by the way it's upside down, yeah. Are you reading it properly? Focus!
Father: The cover's pink and green. Cool yeah.
A week after the massive wave of angry protests and riots erupted around the country, it has become increasingly clear that Indonesia's political elite are not taking the protesters' demands seriously and at best they may make some minor and symbolic reforms to appease public anger.
Andre Rosiade from President Prabowo Subianto's Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) Public Aspiration Body – ostensibly established to channel the people's aspirations – said they still cannot guarantee that all public demands outlined in the 17+8 People's Demands will be fulfilled.
Civil society groups calling themselves the 17+8 Movement formulated a list of 17 short-term and eight long-term demands drawn from the protest actions and social media following the August demonstrations. The government and the House were given a deadline of September 5 to meet the short-term demands, while the remaining longer-term demands are to be fulfilled within one year.
As of noon, Thursday September 4, one day before the short-term deadline, Rosiade said that the House had fulfilled two demands: the revocation of housing allowances for parliament members and a moratorium on official overseas visits.
He noted however that the other demands, such as passing the Asset Forfeiture Bill, establishing an independent fact finding team into the rioting and violence in August and ensuring budget and salary transparency, would require more time. He declined to provide further details on ongoing parliamentary discussions.
"It's within the authority of the leadership. Let the leadership convey it later", he was quoted as saying by Tempo.
Meanwhile the use of the symbolic colours of pink and green continues to gain traction on social media and at follow up protests calling for the 17+8 People's Demands be fulfilled.
"Brave Pink" was inspired by photograph of a housewife wearing a pink headscarf who stood alone facing a group of riot police in Jakarta on August 28, which quickly went viral on social media. "Hero Green" refers to the death of Affan Kurniawan, a motorcycle taxi driver (ojol) wearing his signature Gojek green jacket who was run over and killed by a police tactical vehicle in Jakarta, also on August 28, the incident that triggered the wave of public anger and rioting.
And instead of meeting one of the key short-term demands of releasing all of the demonstrators detained during the protests, police have begun arresting human rights activists including Lokataru Foundation Executive Director Delpedro Marhaen and five other individuals, who have been charged with allegedly inciting students, including minors, to commit what the police label "anarchist acts".
