'Indonesia Gelap' Protesters Call to Prosecute Former President Jokowi

February 20, 2025 | 07:22 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The ‘Indonesia Gelap’ rally has come to its peak today, Thursday, February 20, 2025, after the protest that took place a few days ago in the Patung Kuda area. Students also took to the streets in several regions across Indonesia, including Bandung, Lampung, Surabaya, Malang, Samarinda, Banjarmasin, Aceh, and Bali.

Several demands were voiced during the protest. The students, who were part of the Alliance of the Executive Board of the All-Indonesia Students (BEM SI), called for the prosecution of former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

In the Tempo report entitled "Aksi Indonesia Gelap: Konsolidasi Mahasiswa untuk Demonstrasi Akbar 20 Februari 2025,” or the “Indonesia Gelap Rally: Students Consolidation for the Great Protest of February 20, 2025,” the coordinator of BEM SI, Herianto, revealed that the student alliance will submit several demands to the government.

These demands include the revocation of Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 1 of 2025, transparency of development status, transparency and evaluation of the free nutritious meal program, rejection of the Mining Bill, rejection of military dual function, the endorsement of the Asset Seizure Bill, and the demand to arrest and prosecute former president Jokowi.

"We believe Jokowi has a hand in the failure of the current government," said Herianto when contacted on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.

Meanwhile, Herdiansyah Hamzah, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Mulawarman University, said the massive student movement is triggered by various interconnected issues. Not only related to education, but other aspects of life in the nation as well.

Herdiansyah also explained that the way Prabowo's administration governs the country is not much different from the policies implemented by Jokowi. Therefore, the current demands of the students are considered as a result of various policies inherited from the previous administration.

"The students’ demands are intertwined with the previously adopted policies,” he said, giving examples of the Minerba Bill, the oversized cabinet that leads to the budget cuts, and the strengthening of military supremacy. 

"So it's not surprising that students demand the prosecution of former president Jokowi," he said.

Herianto said today’s date was chosen for the protest since it coincided with the regional heads inauguration. The students, he said, wanted to remind elected leaders of their moral responsibility to bring justice for the people.

The protest also resumed today after the first series of rallies on Monday, February 17, 2025. Herianto hopes the government will quickly respond to the students' aspirations as the people are waiting.

Hammam Izzuddin, Andi Adam Fathurahman, and Hendrik Yaputra contributed to the writing of this article.

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