Indonesian Students Protest Prabowo's Economic Policies and Military Expansion in Jakarta

Hundreds of Indonesian students marched toward Jakarta's Bundaran HI landmark on Friday, June 12, 2026, in a protest dubbed "Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia" to oppose President Prabowo Subianto's economic policies. The demonstration was triggered by the government's decision earlier that week to raise gasoline prices significantly, a move prompted by fiscal pressures from Prabowo's spending plans despite global oil price spikes from the Iran war. Police and military personnel blocked many protesters from reaching the designated protest site, and scuffles erupted when some demonstrators attempted to break through police lines and metal barricades. Student leaders articulated five key demands: cancelling the free-meals programme (which aims to reach 83 million children and pregnant women), lowering fuel and staple food prices, halting village cooperatives programmes, and ending wasteful government spending. Beyond economic grievances, protesters and activists expressed concerns about Prabowo's expansion of military roles in civilian affairs, fearing it could lead Indonesia toward authoritarianism reminiscent of the Suharto era. Critics have characterized the free-meals programme as inefficient and prone to financial leakage, while noting that thousands of children have suffered food poisoning from meals served under it.