Alleged External Intervention Behind Cancellation of Republic Conference at UI
A member of the University of Indonesia’s (UI) Board of Trustees from the student body, Razaan Bayu Rachman, believes there was external intervention behind the sudden ban on the Republic Conference at the UI Salemba campus in Central Jakarta on Sunday, 28 June 2026. A day before the event was to be held, he received reports that the university had been repeatedly contacted by external parties.
“The campus was called many times by external parties,” he said at the UI Salemba campus in Central Jakarta on Sunday, 28 June 2026. However, he did not know who the external parties were, nor could he confirm whether they explicitly requested the activity be banned. “Specifically, they did not ask for that. But implicitly. I suspect the external parties were uneasy because it was seen as mass consolidation and had strong political elements,” he said.
This national consolidation was organised by the Republic Conference committee in collaboration with the student element of the UI Board of Trustees. The students assisted in managing the event permits. The Republic Conference was supposed to be held at the UI Salemba campus on Sunday morning, 28 June 2026. However, UI abruptly banned the activity, citing that it did not meet administrative procedures.
According to Razaan, the committee had submitted the administrative permits according to procedure. They had applied for permission from Ventura FKUI the previous week. “Their response was good,” he said. Three days before the event, Razaan said the committee received a letter of assignment, from which he concluded the activity had been approved by the campus. However, one day before the event, he said UI received many inquiries from external parties. Even so, the committee was still allowed to prepare various event equipment on the afternoon before.
“But at eight in the evening, I was called by many parties. It was still hanging. At eleven at night, it turned out it had already been cancelled,” he said. He believes UI Rector Heri Hermansyah did not actually ban the Republic Conference. He claimed to have communicated with the rector about the event. “The UI Rector only questioned it, because he received many inquiries from outside parties,” he said. However, the rector could not directly oversee the matter as he was on duty abroad. Therefore, he suspects UI was subjected to external intervention. “So I emphasise there was no intervention from the campus side, but from external parties towards UI,” he said.
Razaan regretted the external intervention, suspecting the external parties feared the event. “This event is a symbol of the community gathering with one common element. So perhaps that disturbed other parties,” he said. Regarding this, UI’s Director of Public Relations, Media, Government, and International Affairs, Erwin Agustian Panigoro, said UI was preparing a response.
After being barred from using the UI venue, the committee decided to proceed with the Republic Conference. The committee will begin the discussion via Zoom at 1 p.m. WIB. The General Secretary of the Republic Conference Committee, Yanuar Nugroho, said the consolidation would first discuss the movement’s foundation, such as its values, objectives, and direction. Secondly, the national consolidation will also determine the organisational form, network, and working methods. “Thirdly, it will discuss leadership. Civil networks or coordination still need those willing to work in front of and behind the scenes to ensure communication and coordination occur without monopolising,” said Yanuar.
According to Yanuar, those joining the Republic Conference are autonomous civil organisations or nodes, each with their own roles but sharing common concerns. “So the Republic Conference does not dissolve them, but rather connects these various organisations or nodes so they can meet, coordinate, support each other, strengthen the movement, share agendas, and more,” he said. This national consolidation is a follow-up to the first Republic Conference held in Yogyakarta on 30 May 2026. The consolidation there was attended by hundreds of civil society organisations, activists, and academics. The conference at Gadjah Mada University produced several key findings, including attention to the simultaneous difficulties occurring in various aspects of the republic’s life. Civil society also took issue with democratic institutions that, despite functioning formally, are far from fulfilling their representative and oversight functions. According to the Republic Conference, a crisis has occurred that is cross-sectoral and touches the relationship between citizens.