Fri 28 August 2026:
Thousands of Indonesians gathered outside parliament in Jakarta to call for tougher penalties against corrupt officials.
Thursday’s demonstrations marked the first anniversary of anti-government protests that descended into riots, leaving about 10 people dead and nearly 7,000 in custody.
For most of the day, riot police kept the crowd outside the locked gates of the legislature.
The AFP news agency reported that after nightfall, some protesters threw objects at officers, who answered with tear gas and a water cannon. A police post and motorcycle were set alight and several people were carried off on stretchers, it added.
Students also marched in the cities of Yogyakarta and Makassar.
WATCH: Protests erupted in Jakarta with hundreds of people trying to break into Indonesia’s parliament building to protest against a $6,150 per month paycheck received by its legislators https://t.co/2PhVoLPjOI pic.twitter.com/LV88k55M0f
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 25, 2025
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Protesters are demanding that parliament pass a bill, first brought before it in 2008, that would allow the state to seize assets tied to corruption. Some at the rally called for corrupt officials to face the death penalty.
Some lawmakers met with representatives of the protest group United Pati Community Alliance outside of parliament and promised to resign if the bill is not passed by December 15, according to its leader, Sopriyano.
Some 200 students from several universities were present at the protest, urging the government to scrap a free school meal programme marred by corruption claims and repeated food poisoning incidents.
They also called for an end to the “militarisation” of Indonesian society and lower food prices.
“We chose August 27 to commemorate because last year there were riots and various other incidents. And today we want to convey our aspirations, not cause riots,” a representative for the students told Reuters.
Jakarta police deployed 18,500 officers and detained 65 people before the march, on suspicion of being “provocateurs”, spokesperson Budi Hermanto said.
Chief Security Minister Djamari Chaniago said the deployment was not aimed at curbing their right to free expression.
“We will escort them so that their aspirations can be conveyed properly,” he said.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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