More than a Thousand People Join the 908th Kamisan Protest Marking the 1998 Reformasi

More than a thousand people joined the 908th Kamisan protest in front of the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta. This Kamisan coincided with the 28th anniversary of the 1998 Reformasi and was attended by activists, students, academics, and even school pupils. The Kamisan event featured reflections and speeches from a wide range of participants. One of the speakers was Albani Ilmi, a student at Universitas Indonesia. In his speech, the Kamisan participants expressed disappointment that the Reformasi ideals once aspired to improve Indonesia appear to have died. Albani said Reformasi began as the people’s hope and aspiration to improve Indonesia. ‘There have been numerous blood sacrifices, many tears of families of victims, but today the condition of the Reformasi’s ideals seems no longer to stand,’ he said. He highlighted nepotism, which was opposed during Reformasi, has become more evident in domestic politics today. Albani cited the nomination process for Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka as possible due to changes in the rules at the Constitutional Court. He reminded that at that time the head of the Constitutional Court was none other than Gibran’s uncle, Anwar Usman. Albani also criticised the military for slowly returning to civilian realms, including through the expansion of territorial commands and involvement in government programmes. ‘The spectre of ABRI’s dual-functionality is returning; even the statements of TNI officials now acknowledge that it is not dual-functionality, but multi-functionality,’ he said. The 908th Kamisan was enlivened by a row of black umbrellas that have become symbols of the protest. The demonstrators carried banners containing a range of demands and criticisms of the government. The Kamisan event was also accompanied by music performances, poetry, theatre, and speeches that followed one another. Damar Setyaji, who is also the chairman of the Liga Mahasiswa Indonesia untuk Demokrasi (LMID) Jakarta, estimated that this Kamisan was attended by more than a thousand people. ‘It seems the participants number in the thousands, more than a thousand,’ he said. Like other demonstrators, Damar said that the ideals of the 1998 Reformasi have yet to be realised even after 28 years. He said the values of Reformasi now seem to have died. Therefore, civil society will continue to resist and strive to realise a more democratic Indonesia through various demonstrations, including Kamisan.