Demonstrators Voice Their Concerns at Yogyakarta’s Zero Point This Afternoon

Students from several universities in Yogyakarta and members of the public gathered at the city’s Zero Point this afternoon for a demonstration marking Youth Pledge Day on 28 October 2026.

At 5pm local time, demonstrators were seen dressed in black and carrying banners expressing demands directed at the government on a range of issues.

The demonstration remained peaceful, with participants taking turns to voice their concerns in an orderly manner.

Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a constitutional law lecturer at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), said young people’s concerns about the state of the country needed to be heard. He said the younger generation had an important role in determining Indonesia’s future as it heads towards 2045.

“Indonesia’s future belongs to young people. Whether Indonesia will be anxious or golden in 2045 is not for me, perhaps, or for those of us who are already old. It belongs to young people,” Uceng said during the demonstration on Wednesday (28 October 2026).

Uceng said young people should express their concerns through a movement. He added that Youth Pledge Day should also remind the younger generation to consider the future and fight for change.

“That is why I think young people need to shout out these concerns and take to the streets. On Youth Pledge Day, they must also make a pledge. Today they must think about what is best for them. So it is understandable that they are angry,” he said.

Nevertheless, Uceng stressed the importance of bringing these concerns together in a collective movement.

“I think the demand of Indonesia’s Youth Pledge for young people today is a common language that can remove those divisions. Divisions that damage us and prevent us from keeping adequate checks on arrogant power,” he said.

Uceng also said demonstrations needed to grow in size to show that sovereignty rests with the people. He stressed that those in power must not act arbitrarily towards the public.

“I think they need to be bigger and keep growing. They must grow, and why? Because we have to show that sovereignty is still in our hands. Sovereignty has never moved, friends. We are the ones who are sovereign, and we must say so. Those in power must not be arrogant towards us, the sovereign people,” he said.

“Our concerns, as I said earlier, are different for each of us, but they should be translated into a shared language for change,” he concluded.