Students Stage Protest at Yogyakarta's Zero Kilometre Point This Afternoon

Hundreds of students from the Alliance of Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta (UMY) Bergerak held a protest at the Zero Kilometre Point in Yogyakarta city this afternoon. The demonstrators, the majority of whom were wearing red blazers, packed the Zero Kilometre intersection until police closed off road access. Monitoring by detikJogja showed the crowd began filling the area from 2.30pm Western Indonesia Time. They carried flags and banners bearing criticisms and demands, which were then unfurled across the road. A pickup truck was parked in the middle of the crowd to serve as a speaking platform. Flags were mounted on the pickup truck, while others were waved alongside the clamour of the orators. Arif, the general coordinator of the UMY Bergerak alliance, explained during the protest on Wednesday (17/6) that there were eight points of demand based on a situational analysis by members of the UMY Bergerak alliance and the various student movement elements within it. He argued that today’s policies cannot be separated from the imperialist interests of the United States in Indonesia, stating that imperialist domination over Indonesia remains very strong and the country is still heavily dependent, so that the basic needs of the people and the weakening of the rupiah are inseparable from geopolitical interests. In addition to the UMY Bergerak alliance, several groups of protesters from other organisations also joined the action, including the BEM Nusantara. Miftahun Niam, Regional Coordinator of BEM Nusantara for the Special Region of Yogyakarta, said his group was not only bringing demands on national issues. He stated they were also raising regional issues, such as demanding the Yogyakarta Regional Police eradicate the root causes of street crime, and addressing regional problems like the Yogyakarta waste emergency. He added that they also wanted drainage and infiltration wells on the Yogyakarta Ring Road, which floods during heavy rain, and improved lighting on the Ring Road, which is insufficient and causes many accidents at night.