On 18 August 2026, hundreds of students from the University of Indonesia (UI) held a mass demonstration heading to the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout in Jakarta. The protesters criticized current government policies and delivered 8 broad demands ranging from improved disaster response to military interference in civic space. However, before they reached their assembly point, the protesters were blocked by a line of police officers. The protest organizers, the Student Executive Board (BEM) of UI, reportedly already faced threats and pressure in the days preceding the planned demonstration, including the cancellation of the bus they rented after the driver received threats, personal attacks by buzzers on social media, and even restrictions imposed by the authorities.
Police officials later stated that the protesters were prevented from marching to the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout because it would disrupt public activities in the area. Further, the Chief of Presidential Staff (KSP), Retired TNI General Dudung Abdurachman, alleged that protested had been provoked by disinformation and narratives circulating on social media. Additionally, anti-done equipment was used in an apparent attempt to limit real-time coverage of the events. Ahead of the demonstration, 21 people were arrested by the police on the grounds of allegedly carrying potentially dangerous items such as flares and Molotov cocktails but were later released.
The blocking of the protest as well as the intimidation prior to it constitutes a restriction of freedoms of assembly and expression as well as a shrinking of the space to deliver criticism. In June 2026, another protest at Hotel Indonesia Roundabout was similarly banned, while a demonstration in the same month supporting President Prabowo’s policies, including the controversial Free Nutritious Food Porgram (MGB), was allowed to proceed. Civil society organisations like the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) have pointed out that Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 232 of 2015 as amended by Governor Regulation No. 25 of 2016, which prohibits demonstration at national vital objects, cannot be used to declare the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout a prohibited area for demonstrations.