Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
Little noticed in the West, the past two years have witnessed the largest protest wave in decades against Indonesia’s increasingly authoritarian crony-capitalist government. But activists are still mentally stuck in the 1990s, deploying depoliticized concepts like “civil society” and “moral (...)
The opposition’s weakness means that the Indonesian president’s recent problems carry few political costs – for the moment.
Last year, President Joko Widodo’s image as a populist “close-to-the-people” political leader suffered a series of blows. 2020 was marked by regular demonstrations protesting (...)
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently signed off on chemically castrating and naming perpetrators of sexual violence against children.
It was announced this week Mr Widodo approved the law in December to “provide a deterrent effect on perpetrators, and prevent sexual violence against (...)
Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election is looming large on the horizon as Jokowi’s image wanes.
As Covid year 2020 ends, so too does the first year of the second and final term of the presidency of Joko Widodo. One year in, all the sheen of being the “hope” for Indonesia has vanished. No longer (...)
Jakarta — Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) researcher Danu Pratama has spelled out critical notes on violations of freedom of expression in the framework of commemorating International Human Rights Day on Thursday December 10.
The first note mentioned by Pratama (...)
Literature That Defends Victims, Not Power we have cried out from behind the walls of segregation from the clutches of the spiteful bed from the nightly business in the gutters from the revenge of unwilling wedlock “we are human beings!”
– ‘Women’, written by Sugiarti Siswadi, leader of Lekra (...)
In a recent article Edward Aspinall suggests that the current student mobilisation revives old patterns from the Indonesian student movement. But there are three new manifestations in the current movement that can hardly be understood in terms of the old patterns.
First, in mobilisation, the (...)
The scandalous passing of the “Job Creation” bill, or more accurately, the “pro-Big-Bosses-against-people-and-environment” bill on October 5, has been met with strong opposition from large sections of the Indonesian public.
Protests began when the government proposed the draft bill early this (...)
A major protest movement is underway in Indonesia against the neoliberal, authoritarian-populist regime of Joko Widodo and his collaborators in the House of Representatives. Frans Ari Prasetyo explains the so-called ‘Omnibus Law’ that sparked the protest, and reports on the clashes now unfolding (...)
Indonesia’s trade unions and social movements are taking to the streets against anti-worker legislation.
Because of the threat that the Omnibus Bill poses to Indonesian society, workers, students, peasants, and all elements of social movements have boldly opposed it.
On 5 October, in the (...)
The last week has seen a wave of huge protests around Indonesia against the new so-called omnibus law—a massive law that amends 79 existing statutes and is touted by the government as easing investment and facilitating job creation, but which critics say strips rights from workers and makes it (...)
Jakarta — A non-government organisation focusing on mining in South-East Asia, Transforming Energy and Development (Trend Asia), is urging the government to reveal detailed information on mining contracts in Indonesia. Trend Asia representative Ahmad Ashov made the call on International Right To (...)
Jakarta — Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD says that almost 92 percent of candidate regional heads spread across all of Indonesia are funded by cukong (business tycoons).
On average, said Mahfud, after being elected these candidate regional heads will (...)
A critical analysis of the omnibus bills’ link to the global rise of statist emergency powers
Amidst a global wave of pandemic, widespread dispossession, and mass uprising, numerous states have seized the moment to ram through national security laws. In comparison, Indonesia’s proposed slate of (...)
The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform is urging the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to be transparent in its deliberations on the Draft Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on the Role of the Indonesian Military in Tackling Terrorism.
The call emerged after the (...)
A bill setting out to interpret the Panca Sila, a set of five principles enshrined in the Indonesian Constitution, has come under attack. Conservative elements argue that the bill has framed Panca Sila in an entirely secular manner.
Since June, a controversy has erupted over the “Pancasila (...)
An old idea suddenly became an urgent project: Indonesia is going to build a new capital. It has no name yet, only a working title: Ibu Kota Baru, New Capital City. What do the people who live there think of that? What interests are being served? And who’s going to pay for it? Kris Vanslambrouck (...)
The rapprochement between Widodo and Prabowo has ended the rhetorical contestation and apparent ideological polarisation in Indonesian politics, with the more conservative and right-wing Islamic political groups now marginalised.
The government and the parliament are adopting a policy package (...)
He was once a boy scout and member of a patriotic flag-raising team in high school.
But with student protests sweeping Jakarta and other cities in recent months in some of the worst civil unrest to hit Indonesia in decades, Manik Marganamahendra has emerged as an anti-establishment icon. (...)
In announcing his new cabinet on Oct 23, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has underscored a desire for continuity, both for economic policy as well as political strategy.
On the economic front, it is unlikely that we will see new policy issues take centre stage in the near to medium (...)
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