Students Urge Prabowo to Reassess Indonesia's Membership of the Board of Peace (BoP)

A number of students and civil society groups issued a statement about Indonesia’s involvement in the Board of Peace (BoP), the deployment of Indonesian National Armed Forces troops to Gaza, and Indonesia’s trade relations with the United States. The protest took place in the National Monument area in Jakarta on Saturday, 7 March 2026.

Representing the protest, Shofwan Al Banna Choiruzzad, a lecturer in International Relations at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, said the stance stemmed from the fundamental principle on which the Republic of Indonesia was founded: the rejection of all forms of colonisation.

‘The Republic of Indonesia was founded as a declaration of struggle against the world colonial order, as outlined in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution that oppression of peoples around the world must be abolished because it is not in accordance with humanity and justice,’ said Shofwan when questioned at the scene on Saturday, 7 March 2026.

In Tempo’s observation, student representatives from Universitas Indonesia through to Universitas Sumatera Utara were present. In addition, representatives from civil society, academics and other pro-Palestine organisations were also present.

Several of the government’s current foreign policies are seen as conflicting with that constitutional mandate. They argued that the government’s steps instead show a tendency to follow the interests of global powers.

‘Today, the mandate of that constitution has been violated by various policies that show subservience to the imperialist power of the United States under Donald Trump and Netanyahu,’ the speaker said.

In the statement, the coalition of students and civil society presented a number of demands to the government and the House of Representatives (DPR).

First, they urged the government and the DPR to re-examine Indonesia’s membership in BoP. The coalition even called for Indonesia to withdraw from the organisation if it is deemed not to support Palestinian independence and not to stop violations of international law in Gaza.

Second, they rejected plans to deploy TNI troops to Gaza if conducted under the BoP mandate, particularly if connected to a demilitarisation mission. According to the coalition, such a step could place Indonesia in a position contrary to the interests of the Palestinian people.

Third, the coalition condemned United States and Israel’s military strikes on Iran, which are seen as violating international law. They assessed that the strikes could widen the conflict in the Middle East.

Fourth, they urged the government and the DPR to evaluate all Indonesia–United States trade agreements that are considered skewed and harmful to national interests.

Fifth, the coalition believes that signing the Indonesia–United States trade agreement and involvement in BoP risk dragging Indonesia into global imperialism. Therefore, they say, the policy needs to be corrected through public pressure.

Sixth, they urged the government to realise social justice and strengthen the development of a national industry to safeguard the economic sovereignty of the Indonesian people.

Seventh, the coalition invited various elements of society to build humanitarian solidarity to oppose imperialism and support the Palestinian people’s struggle.

‘We invite all elements of Indonesian society to build the unity of the people in humanitarian solidarity to resist imperialism,’ said Shofwan.