After the Demonstration, Terror and Intimidation Emerge

The wave of demonstrations ‘Merahkan Titik Nol’ organised by the Aliansi Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) Bergerak on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, concluded peacefully. Thousands of participants returned to campus in an orderly fashion. There was almost nothing amiss.

‘There were no chaotic events, no conflicts. We just held speeches, conveying the political views of our friends,’ Jamal—not his real name—told detikX.

The peaceful situation turned chaotic after an unknown young man—wearing a black shirt with a grey sling bag—acted suspiciously. He sat on his motorbike not far from the campus security post while photographing several students who had just returned from the demonstration.

Some students noticed the anomaly and tried to question his identity. However, he fled without providing an answer.

Several students gave chase. At one point, the man fell and was surrounded. He was then taken safely to the UMY Rectorate building for interrogation.

The man repeatedly refused to reveal his identity. He only relented after persistent pressure from the students and after the action coordinator confirmed that the attendance list did not record his name as one of the students present at the Titik Nol demonstration that day.

‘In the end, he admitted that he was an intelligence officer from the (DIY) Regional Police,’ Jamal revealed.

Nevertheless, the man still refused to answer when asked about his purpose in photographing the participants and declined to show his assignment letter. He only claimed to be on his way home after duty.

The Head of Public Relations of the DIY Regional Police, Commissioner Ihsan, confirmed that the man who infiltrated the campus was a police officer. He stated that the officer had an official warrant to secure the UMY student demonstration. Everything was resolved amicably, and the man was picked up and returned to the DIY Regional Police that same evening.

‘We thank the rectorate and the students for the excellent communication and coordination, so this misunderstanding could be resolved properly, and our member has returned to the Regional Police,’ Ihsan said, as quoted from detikJogja on Thursday, 18 May 2026.

However, after that night’s incident, several UMY students reported receiving terror from unknown numbers. Some received threatening and intimidating messages via WhatsApp and Instagram.

One of the terrorising Instagram accounts was named Andre333. Upon checking, the account was created in 2016 and had changed its username six times. Its profile contained the hashtags adt23nusantara and 4248. An Instagram search indicated that the hashtag refers to an alumni community or cohort of a state apparatus unit.

The same terror was also experienced by several students from Gadjah Mada University (UGM). The Chairperson of the UGM Student Union (Sema UGM), Mesa, revealed that several members had received terror through text messages and phone calls from unknown numbers. These numbers sent doxing and spam messages discrediting the student movement.

The attacks occurred after several students disrupted a discussion themed ‘Pancasila Unites the Indonesian Nation’ held at the UGM Innovation and Creativity Centre (GIK) on Monday, 15 June. The discussion was attended by three state officials: Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency Nusron Wahid, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, and Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency Budiman Sudjatmiko.

Mesa suspects the terror messages came from state apparatus. This is because, before the terror attacks, Mesa received information from officers that the UGM Rectorate had been visited by members of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (Bais). They requested CCTV footage of the campus and the identities of several students who protested against the discussion at GIK.

‘Thankfully, at UGM, the campus protects us quite well. So, they also informed us so we could be on alert. If anything happens, we communicate with each other to know each other’s conditions,’ Mesa said by telephone to detikX.

The Head of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Information Centre, Brigadier General Muhammad Nas, warned the public and campus authorities not to immediately trust people claiming to be Bais members. It could be a deliberate provocation by certain parties to heat up the situation.

‘If there are people claiming to be from Bais, be wary of people claiming to be with the aim of provocation,’ Nas wrote in a text message to detikX.

Terror against critical voices has also targeted former Chairperson of the UGM Student Executive Body (BEM), Tiyo Ardianto, who frequently criticises government policies. Tiyo has repeatedly experienced terror, including doxing threats, stalking, and intimidating messages threatening his life and the lives of his parents.

Most recently, Tiyo admitted to being stalked after participating in the Gejayan Memanggil demonstration in Yogyakarta on Saturday, 13 June 2026. A PBX Finder tracking device was found attached to the car he was driving. Tiyo suspects the device had been on the car since Friday, 12 June 2026.

‘I took it, and after consulting with several people, I was told to soak it in water. I soaked it in water overnight,’ Tiyo said, as quoted from detikJogja.

Subsequently, Tiyo was hit with a barrage of police reports for criticising the government of Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka. He was reported by the founder of the mass organisation Ternak Mulyono, Muhammad Firdaus Oiwobo, and the Chairperson of the Legal Aid Institute of the People’s Movement to Support and Defend (Garda) Prabowo, Daeng Lukman.

The Chairperson of the Campus Workers Union (SPK), Dhia Al Uyun, views the terror experienced by several students in Yogyakarta.