Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
J
hen Prabowo Subianto becomes Indonesia’s latest chief executive in less than two weeks, he will find waiting for him a presidential table heavy with state power but light on human rights.
Indeed, analysts say that the democratic regression during the 10-year reign of outgoing President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has been so dramatic that it could take a long while before Indonesians are able to regain their rights that have been either diminished or lost. And so while a massive protest movement near the tail end of the Widodo presidency made it clear that Indonesians are still capable of pushing back against state transgressions, its success may be more an exception than the rule even in the years ahead.
The Peringatan Darurat (Emergency Warning) protests that broke across Indonesia in August had been prompted by an attempt by the House of Representatives (DPR) to ignore a Constitutional Court ruling that maintained the minimum age for those vying for regional posts at 30 years old at the time of their filing for candidacy.
Upon learning that lawmakers loyal to Widodo were planning to revise the election laws instead and lower the age requirement, many Indonesians took to the streets in protest, seeing the move as yet another attempt by Widodo to perpetuate his family in power.
Lowering the age requirement would have enabled Widodo’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, 29, to be aiming to run for deputy governor of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. Among the protesters was Vincentius Kevin Vladimir. Preferring to be referred to as ‘Kevin,’ the 23-year-old Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya student said that he joined the demonstrations because “the government was openly latently showing nepotism and corruption.”
In the end, the legislators did not push through with revising the law, rendering Kaesang ineligible to vie to become deputy governor. But some observers say that the lawmakers changed their minds only because they figured Widodo had only a short time left as president and that doing his bidding would no longer serve their interests in the future.

The story was distinctly different from other major protests that occurred earlier in Widodo’s second five-year term as president. Among these was the Reformasi Dikorupsi (Corrupted Reformation) protest at the end of 2019. The public outcry had been triggered by the issuance of the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK) Law, which many people considered as a systematic effort by the Indonesian political elite to protect themselves from the trap of corruption cases.
It appears, however, the that protest failed to make the authorities rethink their action. Several months later, in October 2020, Indonesians were again up in arms, this time over the Omnibus Law. Protesters across the country urged the DPR to cancel the draft law.
The demonstrations dragged on for almost a week, but they were all for naught; the DPR secretly passed the law in a meeting held at midnight.
Protesters vs. police
Commenting on the Emergency Action protest, constitutional law expert Bivitri Susanti said that it was successful “because the people put pressure on the government at the right time.”
“However,” she said, “the connections between oligarchs and political elites are still very tight. They are difficult to break.” In fact, Bivitri added, expressing dissent in the Prabowo era could be even more difficult. This is because “not only the police have excessive power, but the military may also have (as much clout), if you look at Prabowo’s background as a former army general,” she said.
Should the police and military support and help each other to silence the civilians, said the deputy chair at the Indonesia Jentera School of law, “the situation will become very serious, and the position of the people to resist the government will become more difficult.”
Rights advocates had already expressed alarm over how hard the police had come down on Emergency Warning protesters. Said Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid: “Even though the protests were peaceful, police forces across several cities in Indonesia violently repressed the protests, blatantly disregarding the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
“This is only the latest incident of many where unnecessary and excessive force has been used while policing protests,” he also said. “These repeated incidents attest to the failure of authorities to respect, facilitate and protect the right to protest, which is guaranteed under both national and international human rights law.
“Protesters who took to the streets to voice their aspirations were met with excessive force including beatings, which may amount to torture and other ill-treatment,” said Hamid. “Journalists who covered the protests were also subjected to intimidation, threats, and unlawful force by the police, leading to a violation of their right to physical integrity and their freedom of expression.”
Data collected by the Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (YLBHI, or the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation) and the Komnas HAM Indonesia (National Commission on Human Rights) show that in 2019 alone, more than 50 people were killed during demonstrations. Of these, 33 were Papuans.
“The police often use the power they have to act brutally against the people, even though they are not fighting in a war,” said Muhammad Afif, a public lawyer from YLBHI Jakarta. “They should be the protectors of their people. But what? They often do not hesitate to beat the demonstrators, either with weapons or with tear gas. Once again, these people are not your enemies, you know.”

Various forms of intimidation
Afif noted that under Widodo’s leadership, and especially during his second term, the police have increasingly used excessive force, as well as arbitrarily arresting demonstrators.
“During the Omnibus Law demonstration, around 5,500 people were arrested,” Afif said.” Some of them were even minors. This is the largest number of arrests since the reformation.” (A December 2020 report by Amnesty International recorded 6,658 arrests in 21 Indonesian provinces during the protests.)
“Although the Peringatan Darurat action did not result in that many (demonstrators) being arrested,” he continued, “the police’s way of ‘controlling’ the demonstrators was with an iron fist — arresting them, searching their personal belongings, and various other intimidations.”
The police also usually prevent lawyers from advocating for arrested protesters. During the Peringatan Darurat demonstration, Afif said that it took hours before the police allowed him to meet and examine those who had been arrested and brought to the Polda Metro Jaya (Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police).
“At that time, about 50 people were arrested,” he said. “We arrived at seven p.m. and were only given access at dawn, four a.m.” Alif also told ADC that among those arrested were “many minors, the majority of whom were STM (vocational school) students.
“In addition,” he said, “I witnessed demonstrators being interrogated while in a bad condition. Blood leaked from their heads. Some had wounds on their legs.”
Emergency Warning protesters in other areas met similar fates. A student from Universitas Negeri Semarang (Unnes), who wanted to be known only as Amadella, said that among those she saw being interrogated by the police in the Central Java province were minors, some of whom had bloodied heads.
A member of the Semarang Legal Aid Institute, Amadella said that the police did not allow her and her team to meet with the arrested protesters. The intimidation of the demonstrators did not end at the detention room, she said. The day after the protest in Semarang, she said, the police visited and swept through the stalls selling food and other goods around the Unnes campus where students usually gathered.
“They asked the traders while showing photos, ‘Do you know this person?’” recounted Amadella. “This sweeping caused the students to feel terrorized. In fact, some were visited at their boarding houses to be arrested and questioned, and then they were returned [released]. The situation became tense and suppressed our courage to continue expressing ourselves.”
Protesting under Prabowo
Kevin, the student from Surabaya, is also not convinced that the Emergency Warning protest was a success, despite the legislators’ apparent retreat.
“This is far from a victory,” he said. “If you look at what usually happens, they usually agree to the demands, but later dodge and ignore them. An example is when they signed the cancellation of the national strategy project related to reclamation in Surabaya. However, they are still (going through with it).”
Bivitri herself said that while Kaesang may have failed to run for deputy governor for now, his family’s clout is still formidable, with his father’s cronies continuing to occupy strategic positions in several state institutions and agencies.
Widodo’s son-in-law is currently mayor of Medan, and will run for governor of North Sumatra in the upcoming elections. Then there is Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the incoming vice president.
“One of the effective tactics to break up a political dynasty is to carry out structural reforms,” commented Bivitri. “And not be afraid to continue to voice opinions, even when pressured and threatened. Fear often makes us more tactical in taking steps and turns into courage if we continue to fight.”
She said that she is unsure of how Prabowo would react to any challenges to his administration.
“But resistance can start early,” Bivitri said. “This is because the community has been equipped, and underground discussions have been routinely held since several years ago. What is happening to Jokowi today is the fruit of various discussions, and small protests that then managed to create a big wave. People are now more vigilant and knowledgeable with the experience of surviving under Joko Widodo’s rule.”
“People’s fears are natural,” she said. “By having fear and worry, people will organically become more tactical when conducting demonstrations. Fear will make people protect each other’s networks, and surveillance of each other becomes tighter.” ◉
Reno Surya is a freelance writer based in Surabaya, Indonesia. His work has also been featured in various outlets, including VICE Indonesia, The Jakarta Post, Aljazeera English, Project Multatuli, and New Naratif.