PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Jakarta, 2 September 2025 – Since last week, waves of protests across Indonesia have been met with deadly force and systematic repression. Security forces have used excessive violence, including live ammunition against demonstrators, while conducting mass and arbitrary arrests of students and activists. At the same time, the government has tightened control over information by banning TikTok live-streaming, pressuring mainstream media into self-censorship, and allowing coordinated online harassment and disinformation campaigns against civil society groups, including Transparency International Indonesia (TI Indonesia).
“The government’s response is not only disproportionate but also marks a grave erosion of Indonesia’s democratic freedoms,” said Danang Widoyoko, Secretary General of Transparency International Indonesia. “Instead of engaging in dialogue, authorities have chosen violence, unlawful detention, and digital repression.”
TI Indonesia highlights several urgent violations that threaten the country’s democratic future. The use of excessive force has resulted in deaths, including that of Affan Kurniawan, and serious injuries to hundreds of citizens. Activists such as Delpedro Marhaen, Khariq Anhar, and SyahdanHusein remain detained without clear legal status, often denied access to legal counsel or medical care. The deployment of the Indonesian military (TNI) in civilian crowd control contravenes democratic policing norms and risks normalizing militarization of public space. Meanwhile, Parliament has eroded public trust by maintaining secretive and excessive allowances and perks amidst economic hardship, with weak ethics enforcement and no meaningful transparency.
Although the government has announced certain concessions—such as revoking some perks and suspending overseas trips for Members of Parliament—these steps are partial, administrative, and easily reversible. More importantly, they are overshadowed by escalating repression, notably military deployments, sniper positioning at protest sites, and rhetoric framing protesters as “terrorists” or “traitors.” Rather than de-escalation, these measures represent an authoritarian drift that further deepens the trust deficit between citizens and the state.
A Call for a Democratic Reset
TI Indonesia calls on the government to:
- Halt excessive force and comply with lawful crowd-control standards.
- Release all unlawfully detained individuals, disclose their legal status and whereabouts, and guarantee access to legal counsel and medical treatment.
- Withdraw the military (TNI) from civilian security duties and reaffirm democratic policing standards.
- Establish an independent investigation into killings, injuries, and unlawful detentions, with a clear mandate,strong witness protection, involvement of Komnas HAM and international observers, and findings published to the public.
- To restore civic space, the government must lift the TikTok live ban, end pressure and intimidation against media outlets, and investigate and curb coordinated online harassment and disinformation campaigns targeting civil society organizations.
- Parliament must also legally reverse new perks and allowances, ensure full transparency of compensation and facilities, and strengthen ethics enforcement and oversight by the Ethics Council and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
“Indonesia needs a democratic reset, not the entrenchment of repression,” Danang added. “A structured dialogue with students, labor unions, and civil society must urgently take place through the #ResetIndonesia platform—responding to the 17 Demands by 5 September 2025 and advancing structural reforms in line with the 8 Demands by 31 August 2026.”
TI Indonesia also urges the international community to stand in solidarity with Indonesian civil society. Diplomatic missions, multilateral bodies, and development partners must press the government to uphold its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). International actors should support an independent investigation with published findings, provide protection and digital security for civil society, and monitor ongoing trials and protests.
“Indonesia’s democracy is at a tipping point. If violence and repression continue unchecked, public trust in state institutions will collapse, and authoritarianism will take deeper root,” concluded Danang. “The international community must stand with the Indonesian people to demand justice and ensure that abuses do not end in impunity.”
About Transparency International Indonesia
Transparency International Indonesia is part of the global Transparency International movement, working to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in Indonesia.
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