Jakarta – A number of student and youth organisations held a peaceful demonstration in Jakarta on Tuesday February 3 condemning the attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran and accusing the government of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka of siding with imperialist interests.
As reported by the Faktanasional (National Facts) website on Tuesday, the action was attended by at least seven organisations that expressed their official stance in the capital's public spaces.
They were comprised of the National Student Front (FMN), the Indonesian National Student Movement (GMNI) DKI Jakarta, the GMNI South Jakarta, the Islamic Students Association (HMI) Central-North Jakarta, the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI) Central Jakarta, the Kapuk Baru Youth (PBK) and the People's Movement Alliance for Agrarian Reform (AGRA).
In a statement, the protesters said that the government had shown that it is siding with the US through trade policies and participation in international forums.
"The Prabowo-Gibran government was not threatened by ballistic missiles, but quickly submitted and obeyed the demands of US President Donald Trump since the application of US import tariffs and the subsequent [trade] negotiations", said one of the student representatives.
They also highlighted the signing of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) as well as Indonesia's involvement in the Board of Peace (BoP) and Prabowo's offer to send Indonesian troops to participate in an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza. According to the statement, these policies are seen as not being in line with the principle of national sovereignty.
"Prabowo-Gibran's disgusting actions culminated in the signing of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Indonesia's participation in the Board of Peace and the ISF. Everything is inversely proportional to its talk of national sovereignty", continued the protesters' representative.
The students believed the ART is a trade concession scheme that opens up the obligation to import US commodities and expands access for US foreign investment in strategic resources. They also criticised Indonesia's participation in international forums which were seen as contributing to the normalisation of relations with Israel.
Aside from geopolitical issues, the protesters raised domestic issues, ranging from restrictions on democratic space, the criminalisation of activists and land theft, to cuts to social service budgets.
"It's clear that the actions of the fascist regime and US puppet Prabowo-Gibran are disgusting, embarrassing and insulting to the Indonesian people and the Constitution", said the student representative.
Eight student demands
In a statement read out at the protest action, the students and youth activists conveyed eight demands:
1. Condemning and rejecting the aggression and war led by the US and Israel against a sovereign country.
2. Rejecting Indonesia's involvement in the BoP and an ISF.
3. Rejecting trade concessions under the ART.
4. Rejecting all forms of cooperation between Indonesia and Israel and requesting a halt to the operations of Israeli affiliated company PT Ormat's in a number of areas.
5. Urging the PT Freeport Indonesia gold-and-copper mine to leave Papua.
6. Demanding the implementation of genuine agrarian reform and national industrial development.
7. Encouraging anti-imperialist and anti-feudal people's unity.
8. Strengthening international solidarity with oppressed people in various countries.
The action took place in an orderly manner without any incidents under the security of the police.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Organisasi Mahasiswa Kecam Sikap Pemerintah, Sebut Prabowo-Gibran "Antek Imperialis AS"".]
