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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Medical Team Reveals Orange Spray Used at Gramedia Protest Contained Water and Mylanta, Not Pepper Spray

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Medical volunteers at a protest in Yogyakarta said orange spray canisters contained water mixed with Mylanta, not pepper spray as previously described by Yogyakarta police.
  • The mixture was intended to temporarily reduce eye irritation after exposure to tear gas or other irritants.
  • Volunteers said they used about three canisters and that the devices were not designed to spray pepper liquid aggressively.

The orange spray canisters seen at a protest near Gramedia in Yogyakarta did not contain pepper spray, medical volunteers said. They contained water mixed with Mylanta, a liquid used by the field medical team to temporarily ease the burning caused by tear gas or similar irritants.

A volunteer identified by the initial A from the UGM Medical Volunteers made the explanation at a news conference at the UGM roundabout on Thursday, September 3, 2026. The team said it prepared the mixture with water collected near its medical post and added Mylanta because it had helped reduce eye pain at previous protests.

It contained nothing more than water and a mixed Mylanta solution.

· A, UGM Medical VolunteersThe volunteer explained the contents and purpose of the orange spray used by the medical team.

Dipa, another medical volunteer, said the combined Street Paramedics and UGM Medical Volunteers team brought about three orange canisters to the demonstration. Two were similar in size, while one was larger. About eight volunteers took turns working until the evening.

We filled the water in the bathroom at UII Cik Ditiro. If you want to verify our story, you can ask the security guard at UII Cik Ditiro who saw us fill the water, stir it and prepare it.

· Dipa, medical volunteerDipa described how the team prepared the mixture.

Dipa said the water came from a bathroom at UII Cik Ditiro before the volunteers mixed it with Mylanta. “We filled the water in the bathroom at UII Cik Ditiro. If you want to verify our story, you can ask the security guard at UII Cik Ditiro who saw us fill the water, stir it and prepare it,” he said.

He also demonstrated the canister, saying it had to be pressed and pumped before use. Its spray was not highly forceful and had to be used at close range, characteristics he said did not fit a pepper-spray device. The dispute began after a video on the official Yogyakarta police account described the canister as containing pepper spray. Protest participant Maul said police had approached a medical volunteer over the device, and he explained that it belonged to the medical team and was used to help people exposed to irritants.

The spray is not very aggressive, so it is not suitable for pepper spray and must be sprayed from close range.

· Dipa, medical volunteerHe used the device’s operation and spray pattern to argue that it was medical equipment.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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