Hundreds of Indonesian Students Protest 32% Fuel Hike as Prabowo Defends Free Meals
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 12
Hundreds of Indonesian Students Protest 32% Fuel Hike as Prabowo Defends Free Meals
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 12
Summary
Hundreds of students rallied in Jakarta on Friday under the slogan “Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia,” denouncing President Prabowo Subianto’s spending priorities and this week’s gasoline price increase.
A 32% fuel-price hike followed mounting budget pressure from Prabowo’s ambitious programmes, while protesters said “wasteful” spending on free meals and village cooperatives had undermined subsidies and pushed up living costs.
Police and military personnel blocked some marchers from reaching Bundaran HI, and scuffles broke out when protesters tried to push through metal barricades, though a sizeable crowd remained by Friday evening.
Student leaders issued five demands, including scrapping the free-meals programme, lowering fuel and staple-food prices, and curbing the military’s expanding civilian role, which critics say risks a return to Suharto-era authoritarianism.
The government said the protests were a legitimate democratic expression, defended the free-meals plan for 83 million children and pregnant women as a public-health measure, and said it had already cut unnecessary spending.