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Nationwide student marches: A moral force despite the odds
The latest nationwide student demonstrations should be seen as a progressive movement to save the future of Indonesian democracy. The following are a few factors that affect the movement’s growth and sustainability.
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Students protest against the planned revision Criminal Code and the revision to Corruption Eradication Commission law in front of the House of Representatives building in Senayan, Jakarta on Sept. 24. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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tudent protests have erupted in major cities, including in Yogyakarta, Bandung in West Java, Surabaya in East Java, Surakarta, Semarang in Central Java, Balikpapan in Kalimantan, Banda Aceh in Aceh and Makassar in South Sulawesi, apart from the capital. As millennials and post-millennials — as many were perhaps under 21 years old — they displayed creative messages such as: “Today we empty the coffee shop. We will have coffee at Senayan.” Mobilization to rally included the use of hashtags, such as #GejayanMemanggil (Gejayan calls, in reference to a major street used for protests in Yogyakarta) and #Surabaya Menggugat (Surabaya accuses).
Some reactions have been positive, such as in a comment on social media, “All this time the future generation had appeared to have fainted and now they have woken up”.
Many, however accuse them of being manipulated by elites for their private interests. Images of students involved in violent behavior, such as smashing chairs at the Pare-pare Council in South Sulawesi, will worsen their credibility, whatever the cause.
Nevertheless, the latest nationwide student demonstrations should be seen as a progressive movement to save the future of Indonesian democracy. The following are a few factors that affect the movement’s growth and sustainability.
First, this wave of student protests reflect growing disappointment in democratic institutions, mainly the House of Representatives and the President, who have ignored the voices of civil society, including their own voters.
Today’s student movement follows a long process and earlier movements. Recently, more than 3,000 academics from more than 30 universities signed petitions to protest revisions to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law. But the movements failed to stop the bill.
Other problematic bills feared to be passed in a rush with little public dialogue are a land bill and Criminal Code (KUHP) bill, the latter of which is perceived to limit civil liberties, press freedom and interfere too much in the private sphere.
