JAKARTA - Hundreds of Indonesian students and civil society groups protested in the capital Jakarta and other cities on Wednesday against President Prabowo Subianto's policies, including his government's handling of ongoing forest fires, Reuters reported. At the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, a central Jakarta landmark, some protesters wore gas masks and held signs calling on the government to designate the blazes as a national disaster.
Source: Reuters, Oct 28, 2026 - Hundreds protest in Jakarta over Indonesia forest fires
Hundreds of security personnel, along with police and military vehicles including armoured vehicles, were deployed across central Jakarta on Wednesday morning in anticipation of the protests, Reuters reported earlier in the day. University of Indonesia students said they would stage protests at several spots in the capital under the hashtag #IndonesiaAware, known in Indonesian as #IndonesiaSadar.
Source: Reuters, Oct 28, 2026 - Indonesia beefs up security presence to prepare for student protests
Jakarta Metro Police said demonstrations were expected from 10 a.m. local time around the parliament (DPR/MPR) complex, the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, the National Monument (Monas) and Tugu Tani, and advised commuters to avoid the areas and expect situational traffic diversions, detik reported. The University of Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM UI) set its joint rally at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout for 2 p.m.
Source: detik via IndonesiaNow, Oct 28, 2026 - Demonstrations at Indonesia's DPR and Bundaran HI
Five demands, from disaster status to cheaper education
The students' demands include declaring a national disaster status for the ecological disaster, ensuring the state budget serves the public and ending budget waste, lowering education costs, eradicating corruption, collusion and nepotism, ending the militarisation of civilian spaces, and action on law enforcement and abuse of power, according to BEM UI's published demands reported by Kompas TV and Jawawa. Protesters at the roundabout also displayed the three-finger protest sign and photos of Prabowo and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Reuters reported.
Indonesia has faced its worst forest fires and resulting haze in 11 years, worsened by the El Niño weather pattern that leaves peatland vulnerable to fires, Reuters reported. The haze has increased respiratory illnesses and polluted the air of neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore. Protests have also been held in haze-stricken areas of Borneo and Sumatra, including one in Central Kalimantan last week.
Anggi Aurien, 28, told Reuters she had been wearing a gas mask for three hours at the roundabout while protesting fires that have killed wildlife. "Animals don't have a mind of their own. If we kill them, what's the difference between us and them?" she said.
Government says it welcomes the students' input
The government's communications office said late on Wednesday that it welcomed input from students, had prosecuted companies linked to the fires, sent aid to haze-stricken provinces and would continue monitoring the fires, Reuters reported. Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung had earlier said he hoped the 28 October demonstration would stay orderly, Jawawa reported, and Jakarta Metro Police urged protesters to protect public facilities and respect other residents' rights.
Prabowo's approval ratings have fallen steadily since late last year, according to surveys by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), two years into his presidency, Reuters reported. Indonesia's last major protest wave was in August, when hundreds were detained, and students also held demonstrations last week.