Uprising across Indonesia is a collective eruption of rage

Many people in Indonesia despise the government, the year-old coalition led by president Prabowo Subianto (Wikimedia Commons / Alexander Kubitza)

A huge protest movement is engulfing Indonesia, threatening the year-old coalition government of president Prabowo Subianto.

There was heavy fighting in the capital, Jakarta, last weekend as thousands of people took to the streets and many MPs’ homes were set ablaze and state buildings were looted.

Fighting soon spread to many other parts of the giant south east Asian country.

The outpouring of anger involved many students and long-standing democracy activists but also large numbers of the urban poor who have been hit hard by government austerity policies.

The government sparked anger last week when it announced lavish housing allowances for MPs of around £2,500 each—nearly ten times the minimum wage.

The fury on the streets grew after cops killed motorcycle taxi rider Affan Kurniawan last Thursday. Heavily armoured police vehicles ran him over during a demonstration in the capital.

Police then attacked protesters with batons, tear gas and assorted weapons, killing another two protesters.

Despite the state violence, the street movement so far appears resilient.

Hundreds of students were again gathering in Jakarta and other major cities as Socialist Worker went to press on Tuesday, despite fears of a further crackdown.

The state is torn between its instinct to further repress the movement, and the need to make concessions in order to subdue the anger on the streets.

Police chiefs quickly apologised to Affan’s family and promised an inquiry.

The governor of Jakarta, Pramono Anung, also visited the family, expressing condolences and offering financial assistance for his funeral arrangements.

But so far, such moves have not dissipated the anger. Instead, protesters put up a banner on a bridge near where Affan was killed that read “Arrest the damn officers”.

In Kwitang, an area of central Jakarta, tensions rose as the protesters marched to the road in front of the Indonesian National Police headquarters. 

When cops fired into the protest, marchers responded with rocks, Molotov cocktails and firecrackers.

Many people despise the government but also the wider Indonesian elite who promised fundamental change after the revolutionary overthrow of president Suharto in 1998.

His 30-year dictatorship followed a military “purge” in the mid-1960s in which the state murdered up to a million Communists.

During the 1998 wave of protests, “reformers” promised that the country’s military regime would be dismantled.

But today protesters say there is no real democracy as neoliberal policies have hollowed out all its key institutions—including parliament.

When president Subianto called on citizens to proudly wave the country’s red and white flag on independence day last month, thousands of people responded with a very different standard.

They waved a pirate flag featuring a skull and crossbones wearing a distinctive yellow straw hat.

This so-called “One Piece” symbol, derived from Japanese anime, now adorns millions of people’s houses, cars, motorbikes and trucks.

It has become the main symbol of the rebellion.

Key to the anti-government movement’s success so far has been its broad base and its ability to incorporate thousands of gig economy workers, such as Affan.

But whether the rebellion can be sustained against massive repression will depend on whether it can reach even further to win over large section of workers.

If that were to happen, then cracks would likely appear in Subianto’s coalition. The deeper change that millions of people demand could be on the agenda.