UGM Students Clarify Disruption of Officials' Discussion: A Form of Expression

Students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) have stated that their actions during a discussion event at the university’s Gelanggang Inovasi dan Kreativitas (GIK) on Monday evening (15/6) were a form of collective expression, not an intentional disruption. The event was attended by Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency Nusron Wahid, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, and Head of the Agency for the Acceleration of Poverty Eradication Budiman Sudjatmiko. UGM student spokesperson Gladwin said the students were restless and came to voice their aspirations and criticism. “Whatever happened there was a form of our expression,” Gladwin told reporters during a press conference and statement reading at the university’s balairung on Wednesday (17/6/2026). He dismissed the notion that the students had planned to disband the discussion from the outset, emphasising that the expression was valid due to the ongoing oppression felt by the people. Another student representative, Sarah, recounted that the students’ arrival was triggered by posts about the officials’ visit accompanied by media supportive of the government. She stated that the event, labelled as a discussion, was merely a showcase of government achievements with an unequal share of speaking time, preventing substantive dialogue. The anger at GIK, she said, was fuelled by multiple issues, including the plummeting rupiah, a rise in non-subsidised fuel prices feared to cause a domino effect, and a wave of layoffs affecting tens of thousands of workers. She stressed that UGM students are not anti-dialogue but questioned how a substantive and equal discussion could be held with government figures they deemed untrustworthy and not on the side of the people. Another representative, Mesa, argued that in a democracy, discussions should not be held in politically conditioned spaces controlled by the authorities. He said the students’ first instinct was to bring the officials out to the street to question their allegiance. Mesa claimed the officials’ responses showed a lack of solidarity with the people, noting that instead of admitting mistakes, they asked a protester to see the situation in Papua firsthand. The students demanded that if there is truly no oppression in Papua, the government should open full access for the press and withdraw all military forces spreading terror. The students issued several demands: the release of all political prisoners and amnesty for those criminalised; an end to restrictions on demonstrations; the withdrawal of the military from civilian spaces and the revocation of the TNI and POLRI laws; and a halt to the criminalisation of activists. They warned that if these demands are not met, it proves the government has never and will never side with the people, declaring democracy effectively dead and that the only solution is to reclaim power by any means necessary to restore civilian supremacy. They also urged UGM Rector Ova Emilia to take a clear intellectual stance, declaring that the university no longer trusts the Prabowo-Gibran administration and fully supports the people’s struggle to reclaim their rights.