Protesters began gathering at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts and cultural centre in Cikini on Friday afternoon, February 21, ahead of the climax of the Dark Indonesia actions at the Horse Statue in Central Jakarta.
A command vehicle was parked at the location along with two ambulances with banners on the sides reading "Ambulance resulting from citizen donations". Several people wearing health worker uniforms could be seen guarding the vehicles. "There are two ambulances from donations", said a medical officer at the location.
At around 1.35 pm the protesters formed a circle to discuss the technical aspects of the action before holding a long-march to the Horse Statue.
Earlier, Dark Indonesia action spokesperson Tegar Afriansyah said that the students taking part in the action today would take off their university alma mater jackets during the demonstration. "We agreed to let go of our egos by not wearing alma mater [jackets] at the action this time round", said Afriansyah when contacted on Friday.
Afriansyah said that today's action would be joined by thousands of demonstrators from various backgrounds and various regions. "Around 2500 (demonstrators) and they will merge together with the civil society movement [activists] from outside the student movement," he explained.
Long-march from TIM
At around 2.10 pm the protesters gathered at TIM began the long-march to the Horse Statue. The demonstrators were led by the command vehicle and accompanied by the song "Pay, Pay, Pay" (Bayar, Bayar, Bayar) by the punk band Sukatani.
The long-march proceed along Jalan Cikini Raya via Cikini 2 towards Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat in the direction of the State Palace. The hundreds of demonstrators wearing all black clothing carried posters and banners with messages such as "Strengthen Unity, Seize the People's Severity", "Dark Indonesia" and "A Disorderly State on Account of Fatty", referring to President Prabowo Subianto.
Four main demands
There were four main clusters of demands that were the focus of Friday's Dark Indonesia action. First, demanding that the government enact pro-people laws including the Draft Law on Indigenous Peoples (RUU Masyarakat Adat), the Draft Law on Asset Confiscation (RUU Perampasan Aset) and the Draft Law on the Protection of Domestic Workers (RUU Perlindungan Pekerja Rumah Tangga).
Secondly, rejecting anti-people legislation such as the planned revisions to the Indonesian Military Law (UU TNI), the National Police Law (UU Polri), the Draft Law on House of Representatives (DPR) Rules and Procedures (UU Tatib DPR), the recently enacted revisions to the Mineral and Coal Mining Law (UU Minerba) and the Draft Law on the Attorney General's Office (UU Kejaksaan).
Third, re-evaluating the government's budget efficiency policy, President Prabowo Subianto's bloated cabinet, the free nutritional meals (MBG) program, problematic national strategic projects (PSN), as well as plans for the elimination of performance allowances (Tukin) for lecturers and teachers.
Another demand in the fourth cluster is the cancellation of a series of problematic policies. This includes urging the government cancel the multifunctional role of the TNI and Polri, Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 1/2025 on Budget Efficiency, the use of the state budget (APBN) for the recently launched Danantara sovereign wealth fund and the development of new capital city (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
Pay, Pay, Pay
The hundreds of demonstrators began arriving at the Horse Statue just after 2 pm. At 2.30 pm they began singing the song "Pay, Pay, Pay" which was sung while waiting for the other groups of protesters to joined them at the Horse Statue from other areas near the Presidential Palace.
"Want to make a drivers licence, pay the police", shouted the hundreds of demonstrators. "Want to become a cop, pay the police", responded the crowd.
The song 'Pay, Pay, Pay' by Sukatani went viral because it contains lyrics about paying unscrupulous police officers to do their job. Sukatani subsequently had to pull the song from various platforms and apologise to the National Police. This triggered public anger over suspicions that the song withdrawal and apology were because of intimidation against the Sukatani band members by the authorities.
The protesters at the Horse Statue also shouted "Try Jokowi! Try Jokowi!" and "Hang Fufufafa", referring to former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's and his son Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The shouts began when a speaker was conveying their demands from the command vehicle.
"Come one, come on, let's hang Fufufafa", shouted the speaker from the command vehicle. "Hang Him!", screamed the crowd.
Volunteers distribute food
A group of housewives also distributed food to the Dark Indonesian action participants at the Horse Statue. The housewives, who were on the sidewalks around Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, distributed mineral water and bread to action participant who passed by.
A number of protesters could be seen taking water and bread distributed by the housewives. "We've [been demonstrating] since 10 o'clock, this is free for the demonstrators", said one of the housewives.
And it was not just housewives, supporters of the K-Pop group named NCTZen Humanity also distributed free food and drinks to protesters.
Protest becomes heated
The climax of the Indonesian Dark actions at the Horse Statue began to heat up just after 4 pm when protesters began throwing mineral water bottles and firecrackers at police.
The police responded by asking the demonstrators not to carry out provocative acts. "Please don't throw things", said one police officer through a loudspeaker.
The protesters at the Horse Statue also sung the song the Internationale during a break in speeches conveying their aspirations. The demonstrators began singing the song under the guidance of a women speaker on the command vehicle at around 5.30 pm.
"It's the final struggle, rise up and fight!", the woman sang from the command vehicle. "And the Internationale will unite the world!" responded the protesters.
The Internationale is a song often sung by the world's working class when they are trying to fight for their rights. There are several versions of the song which are adapted to the languages of each country. In Indonesia the song was translated by Ki Hajar Dewantara.
Protest becomes chaotic
By 7 pm the action at the Horse Statue had become chaotic with demonstrators throwing Molotov Cocktail bombs and firecrackers in the direction of the police.
The police responded by appealing to the protesters not to throw bombs and instructing officers to hold their ground and not be provoked. "Be careful of provocateurs who are throwing things", said a police officer from on top of a car
The demonstrators however did not heed the appeal and again fired firecrackers in the direction of the police. They also threw stones and bottles.
At around 7.30 they set fire to a plastic barrier creating a large fire with smoke souring high into the air. Not only that, the protesters also raised their middle fingers at the police who were still on guard.
As of 7.43 pm a number of demonstrators were still holding their ground although there were no more speeches. The command vehicle that had earlier led the protesters had already left the location.
Crowd disperses
At around 10.50 pm the demonstrators gradually began to disperse and the police reopened roads next to the National Monument (Monas) and traffic began to flow again.
On Jalan Merdeka Barat meanwhile, police officers began removing road barriers while Public Facility Maintenance Agency (PPSU) could be seen cleaning up the location where the action had taken place.
Protest actions titled "Dark Indonesia" have been held by a number of social organisations in several parts of Indonesia since last Monday February 17. During the demonstrations, the protesters brought a number of demands related to the policies by President Prabowo Subianto's administration.
In Jakarta, the demonstrations that started last Monday were cantered at the Horse Statue, although no actions were held there on Tuesday and Wednesday and they were only continued on Thursday and Friday.
Aside from Jakarta, similar actions are also taking place in the Central Java cities of Yogyakarta and Solo and Makassar in South Sulawesi.
[Abridged translation by James Balowski based on multiple articles by CNN Indonesia on February 21. The original title of the lead article was "Massa Indonesia Gelap Menyemut di TIM, Almamater Diganti Baju Hitam".]
