Thousands rallied in Jakarta on Oct. 28, demanding national disaster status for fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan amid concerns over haze, living costs and alleged corruption, The Straits Times reported.
The event at Bundaran HI coincided with Indonesia's Youth Pledge Day and brought university students and civil-society groups together under the loose #IndonesiaSadar coalition, the newspaper reported. The call also surfaced at demonstrations elsewhere in the country. In Jakarta, a group led by the University of Indonesia student association placed disaster designation first in its five demands.
Yuyun Santoso, a 23-year-old student who traveled from Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan, said participants wanted Indonesians nationwide to know that fires continued there. “Kalimantan is still burning,” he told reporters at the roundabout. Student protesters had previously been stopped by police from reaching Bundaran HI, most recently in August; this time, they split into groups to get there, The Straits Times reported.
Government spokesperson Syahganda Nainggolan said in an Oct. 28 statement that the government respected the demonstrations and was intensifying its fire-response work. He cited more than 70,000 firefighting personnel deployed and investigations into companies and individuals suspected of starting fires.
Volunteer groups, many made up largely of women, supported protesters with food, drinks, trash bags and medical assistance, The Straits Times reported. Vitri Sekarsari, 43, a member of one group, said it mostly supplied food and drinks; supporters also sent supplies through food-delivery services. She told The Straits Times, “Food prices are rising, mothers are really feeling the burden.”
The rally was largely peaceful, though some protesters occasionally clashed with police when they were blocked from reaching the roundabout, The Straits Times reported. Smaller demonstrations also took place in Yogyakarta, Bandung, Malang and Padang.
The gathering followed student protests across Indonesia on Oct. 20 over the government's wildfire response, reported by AFP and covered in EconoTimes' earlier account of nationwide demonstrations.
