Students March to Bundaran HI After Buses Blocked

Hundreds of students from the University of Indonesia’s Student Executive Board (BEM UI) staged a long march to the Bundaran HI roundabout during a demonstration on Friday (12/6). The action took place after police blocked their buses and vehicles to prevent the protest from being held at Bundaran HI. The marching crowd departed from in front of the parliament complex and the group was halted in the Semanggi area. Police had asked the students to hold their protest rally at the parliament complex and not proceed to HI. The students stated that their aspirations and demands were not directed solely at the House of Representatives and continued to demand that police open the road. In their action, the students carried five demands: that the government stop wasting the state budget, lower the prices of staple goods and fuel, halt the Free Nutritious Meals programme and the construction of the Red and White Village Cooperatives, reject civilian militarisation, and demand that President Prabowo Subianto stop evading responsibility and acknowledge the government’s mistakes.