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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Jakarta Students Insist on HI Roundabout Protest Site Despite Police Blockade

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Over 1,000 Indonesian students planned a protest at Jakarta's HI Roundabout, symbolizing distrust in the government, but police blocked their route.
  • Students rejected police instructions to protest elsewhere, insisting on the HI Roundabout as a symbolic location.
  • The protest demands include reducing state spending, lowering commodity prices, halting specific government programs, and addressing policy shortcomings under President Prabowo Subianto's administration.

Jakarta's HI Roundabout became a focal point for student dissent on Friday, June 12, 2026, as the Student Executive Board of University of Indonesia (BEM UI) alliance attempted to stage a 'Towards Indonesia's Bankruptcy' demonstration. Despite plans for over 1,000 students to gather, police intercepted protesters en route from their Depok campus, blocking access to the roundabout and directing them to protest near the parliamentary complex instead.

The students, however, refused to alter their chosen location. BEM UI chair Yatalathof Ma'shum Imawan emphasized that the HI Roundabout was deliberately selected to symbolize their profound distrust in the current government. He stated that protesting at the Presidential Palace was intentionally avoided, and that the parliament, which they believe now primarily serves government interests over public aspirations, would not yield any meaningful change.

We are still working to ensure that we can still stage the protest at the HI Roundabout.

— Yatalathof Ma'shum ImawanBEM UI chair Yatalathof Ma'shum Imawan explaining the students' insistence on protesting at the HI Roundabout despite police blockades.

"They are now a mere administrative counter for the government," Yatalathof commented on the House of Representatives. Despite police blockades in the Semanggi and Senayan areas, students were seen attempting to reach the HI Roundabout, underscoring their determination to voice their grievances at the symbolic site. The Jakarta Metro Police had not responded to Tempo's inquiries regarding the situation at the time of reporting.

The planned protest outlined five key demands: a reduction in perceived inefficient state spending, lower prices for basic commodities and fuel, the cessation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program and the Red and White Village Cooperatives initiative, an end to military involvement in civilian matters, and a call for President Prabowo Subianto's administration to acknowledge and rectify policy failures. Several other university student bodies and organizations were expected to join the rally.

They are now a mere administrative counter for the government.

— Yatalathof Ma'shum ImawanBEM UI chair Yatalathof Ma'shum Imawan describing the perceived role of the House of Representatives.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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