Jakarta – Protesters consisting of students, academics and civil society activists held a peaceful demonstration titled "The National People's Picnic" in front of the parliament building in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Friday September 5.
They wanted to call in the 17+8 People's Demands in the context of demanding accountability from the government and the House of Representatives (DPR). The deadline for the 17 short-term demands is today.
The demonstrators strongly condemned the brutal actions of the state apparatus and formulated five critical demands to address the humanitarian crisis triggered by the wave of demonstrations since August 25.
These demands are in line with the broader 17+8 People's Demands, which have united millions of people in a call for justice and reform.
Today's peaceful action is intended to send a strong message to the government to act immediately to restore trust and uphold the people's constitutional rights.
The three main demands taken up by today's peaceful action are:
1. Immediately act on the five demands of the National People's Picnic, with a focus on justice for victims of violence by law enforcement officials and the state.
2. The fulfilment of the 17+8 People's Demands by releasing detained demonstrators, returning the TNI (Indonesian Military) to the barracks and reforming the Polri (National Police) and anti-people policies.
3. The organisation of an administration that upholds the 1945 Constitution in order to restore trust through transparency, participation and accountability.
In addition to this, the peaceful action also demanded that the government immediately take firm action to address the humanitarian crisis in the five demands.
Then, form an independent ad hoc team involving components of the people to thoroughly investigate cases of violence against all the victims of human rights violations by the state apparatus.
Then, as a logical consequence of these repressive actions, they also demanded that the government prioritise space for the expression of aspirations and opinions as well as guarantees of democratic freedom by stopping and preventing repressive actions by law enforcement officers.
Furthermore, they demanded a total evaluation of Presidential Instruction Number 1/2025 on budget spending efficiency in priority sectors that has allocated funds to regressive budget items amidst economic instability.
In addition to this, they also demanded that the government immediately take tactical steps oriented towards the interests of the wider pubic in order to restore national economic stability and resilience in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
Meanwhile for the DPR, they demanded reform of the legislative process to ensure it is free from all forms of conflict of interest, preventing policies that do not side with the people amidst an uncertain social, economic and political situation.
They also urged political party leaders to immediately impose strict sanctions in the form of replacing members who violated the code of ethics and provoked public anger.
Then they demanded that law enforcement officials stop and prevent human rights violations against the ordinary people. (fra/mnf/fra)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aksi Damai Piknik Rakyat di Depan DPR, Tagih 17+8 Tuntutan".]
