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View all search resultsStudents return to streets as anger swells over wildfires, shrinking civic space
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Protesters holding posters shout slogans during a protest against President Prabowo Subianto’s policies, and his government's handling of forest fires, at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta, on Oct. 28, 2026.
(Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
S
tudents and civil society groups across Indonesia took to the streets once again on Wednesday to demand the government’s accountability over the persistent forest and peatland fires, while decrying what they say is a shrinking civic space under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
Titled #IndonesiaSadar (Wake Up, Indonesia), the protest was organized by a coalition of student unions in Jakarta and other cities and fell on the Youth Pledge Day, which commemorates the pledge made by Indonesian youths in 1928 on the nation’s identity.
In Jakarta, thousands of students and various elements of society rallied around the landmark Welcome Statue at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle, voicing their frustration over numerous government policies they claimed did not meet the public’s needs and only served the interests of political elites.
The protesters’ main grievance, however, centered on the government’s handling of wildfires and transboundary haze, which has become a regional issue, raising health concerns domestically and in neighboring countries.
Students, who for the first time marched without their iconic varsity jackets, held up three-finger salutes as a symbol of resistance. The gesture, popularized by the American movie The Hunger Games, has been used by pro-democracy movements internationally.
Various banners and posters criticized the government’s lack of accountability in responding to the fires, which have ravaged Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua for months. Many also demanded that a national disaster be declared, which could prompt additional resources to extinguish the fires.
Prabowo’s administration has repeatedly shrugged off public calls to declare the fires a national disaster, claiming that the government has the blazes under control.
