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Amnesty International has said the increasing number of deaths from the government crackdown is ‘alarming’
Published On 3 Sep 2025
About 300 members of the Indonesian Women’s Alliance (API) have rallied outside parliament in the capital Jakarta, demanding an end to state violence and the withdrawal of the military from civilian security duties.
The demonstration on Wednesday comes after a week of unrest that has killed at least 10 people, which began when a motorcycle taxi driver was killed on August 28, after being run over by an armoured police vehicle driven near crowds in Jakarta.
The incident triggered widespread anger that has since escalated into nationwide protests over low wages, rising taxes and lawmakers’ pay.
The rallies forced President Prabowo Subianto to backtrack on plans to increase benefits for members of parliament, while he also ordered the military and police to take action against rioters and looters after state buildings and homes of political party members were ransacked or set on fire.
The unrest continued on Tuesday as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters near two universities in the city of Bandung, according to student groups and authorities. The clashes brought the death toll from the demonstrations to at least 10 people.
At Wednesday’s rally in Jakarta, API leaders called on Prabowo to halt the use of the military and police against civilians and to withdraw soldiers from security operations.
They urged the president, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and National Armed Forces Commander Agus Subiyanto to pull back troops deployed alongside police. The group also demanded the resignation of National Police Chief Listyo Sigit and the release of all detainees held without charge.
The alliance denounced the criminalisation of dissent, urging authorities to stop targeting citizens, activists, journalists and legal aid workers and to free all those detained.
They also called for an end to the military’s role in civilian affairs, saying troops should return to the barracks, and pressed the government to guarantee the right of Indonesians to assemble, associate and protest peacefully without intimidation or violence.
Amnesty International has condemned the crackdown. “The increasing number of deaths from the crackdown on protests in Jakarta and other regions in Indonesia is alarming. Nobody should die while exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Montse Ferrer, Amnesty’s deputy regional research director.
Source:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
