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View all search resultsAnalysis: Prabowo uses big stick, few carrots to restore order
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Protesters set fire to a police motorcycle during a demonstration against a revision to the armed forces law in front of the House of Representatives building in Jakarta on March 27, 2025. The Indonesian parliament approved the amendment of the military law on March 20, despite protests that it would expand the armed forces' role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by President Prabowo Subianto's coalition, was aimed at expanding the military's role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its powerful armed forces. (AFP/Azwar Ipank)
T
he deployment of the Indonesian Military (TNI) to crack down on massive nationwide protests, some of which descended into violence, around the turn of the month may have helped restore order. President Prabowo Subianto, for one, felt comfortable enough about the situation in the country for him to make a quick trip to Beijing.
Prabowo also offered political concessions to protesters and mobilized leaders of political parties and religious and labor groups to help contain the public outrage at the current political and economic conditions.
The President may be using many carrots, but the one big stick, the use of the military, is the single biggest factor that is preventing university students from taking to the streets in big cities, which they had planned for five days starting Sept. 1. Some student groups have not given up on the idea and are rethinking their strategy in the face of the TNI deployment. Could this be a case of an eerie calm before the storm? We will know soon enough.
Prabowo, a former Army general, gave the greenlight to the military to intervene and help police contain what he described as acts of anarchy, into which many of the protests had transformed. In a later speech, he said some of the actions bordered on treason and terrorism, although he did not elaborate or provide evidence.
The message is clear: He has given the TNI carte blanche to do whatever is necessary to stop the violence.
Police failed in their job as they had themselves become targets of violence after one of their tactical vehicles ran over a protester, a motorcycle taxi driver. That brutal incident on Aug. 28 was live-streamed raw and unedited on social media platforms, and the videos quickly went viral, creating even more outrage at police brutality.
Protesters targeted police headquarters and smaller stations, and the House of Representatives building in Jakarta. Several regional legislative council buildings were set on fire. Public facilities such as bus stops in Jakarta were damaged. Three politicians and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati also saw their houses looted by mobs.
