Alfian, Makassar -- The momentum of Youth Pledge Day on Monday October 28 was used by students and local people in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar to again take to the streets to voice their demands.
The demonstrations were centred at the flyover and at the South Sulawesi Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Jl Urip Sumoharjo.
As of going to print, the civil society activists, university and high-school students who are part of the People’s Anti-Oligarchy Alliance were still demonstrating in front of the DPRD.
The alliance was established by students from the Makassar State University (UNM), the Hasanuddin University (Unhas), the Indonesia Muslim University (UMI), the Islamic State University (UIN), the Makassar Struggle of the Republic of Indonesia University (UPRI) and the Creative Media State Polytechnic (Polimedia).
Students from the different universities along with workers and civil society organisations took turns in giving speeches. They continued to take up the theme #ReformasiDikorupsi (Reform Corrupted) which was popularised during the mass protests in late September.
During the momentum of Youth Pledge Day, the People’s Anti-Oligarchy Alliance voiced 14 demands related to the House of Representatives’ (DPR) deliberation of several draft laws which are considered anti-people. They also demanded that President Joko Widodo immediately issue a presidential regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to annul the recently enacted KPK Law.
The demonstrators, who numbered in the hundreds, also put up banners and posters. The following are the alliances’ 14 demands:
1. Reject all planned laws and or revisions to laws which are not pro-people.
2. Issue a Perppu to annul the new KPK Law.
3. Ratify the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS).
4. Ratify the Draft Law on Domestic Workers (RUU PRT).
5. Unconditionally release the 12 Papuan political prisoners, including Indonesian People’s Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) spokesperson Surya Anta and his colleagues.
6. End the criminalisation of human rights defenders.
7. Withdraw TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) troops from Papua.
8. Try the corporations burning the forests.
9. Try the security personnel which perpetrated the violence during the September 24-30 protests.
10. Reject the commercialization of education and create democratic campuses.
11. End the theft of the people’s democratic space.
12. Stop silencing and intimidating high-school students.
13. Immediately revise Law Number 2/2011 on the Political Parties.
14. Revoke Law Number 12/2012 on Higher Education.
Notes
On October 28, 1928, Indonesian students and youth gathered in Jakarta to declare the Youth Pledge – generally accepted as the first open declaration of Indonesian independence – which called for a united independent Indonesia under the theme of “One Nation, One People, One Language”.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Aliansi Rakyat Melawan Oligarki Makassar Demo di Hari Sumpah Pemuda, Ini 14 Tuntutannya”.]
