Roundtable on Indonesian Protests
Reset Indonesia:
Governance and Grievance in a Time of Discontent
Speakers:
Christopher Hulshof
PhD Candidate in History, UW-Madison
Made Supriatma
Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute
Board Member, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and Kurawal Foundation
Cyprianus Jehan Paju Dale
Honorary Fellow, Department of Anthropology, UW-Madison
Veronika Kusumaryati
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, UW-Madison
Throughout August and September this year, Indonesians staged large scale protests against the Prabowo Administration and Parliament. What began as a demand to reverse subsidy schemes, penalize Parliament members who made insensitive statements, and pass the Confiscation of Assets Act for lawmakers convicted of corruption, grew into protests that spread across the country, mobilizing a demand “to reset Indonesia.” Following the killing of Affan Kurniawan, a motorcycle taxi driver who was run over by a police vehicle on August 28, the Indonesian government conducted large-scale, violent crackdowns on civil dissent, arresting hundreds of activists and shutting down internet platforms. This roundtable will reflect on the protests as continuum within a series of similar campaigns against the Indonesian democratic backsliding since the Jokowi’s administration, remilitarization under Prabowo, and widespread socio-economic grievances. It explores the articulation of 17+8 Peoples Demands (Indonesia: 17+8 Tuntutan Rakyat) as part of the sustained efforts for a new wave of political reforms and the possibilities of democratic openings in the country.