Protecting the right to protest: International solidarity with Indonesia!

Responding to the mass protests in Indonesia and the state’s heavy-handed response, more than 250 local and international organisations and individuals have signed on to the following demands on the Indonesian government.

The signatories are seeking action from the government to protect the right to protest and freedom of dissent, an end to the police violence, forced disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrests of protesters and bystanders and an end to the excessive use of crowd-control weapons and for those responsible for abuses to be brought to justice.

1. The National Police (Polri) is to immediately end the use of excessive force, ensure all crowd-control operations comply with Perkap [Regulation] No. 1 of 2009 [on the use of police force] and international human rights standards such as the UN Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons and UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and impartially investigate officers responsible for abuses.
2. The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) is to exercise independent oversight by launching an urgent inquiry into police violence on 28th August 2025 and recommend disciplinary and criminal sanctions.
3. Police Institutions (Polri and Kompolnas) and Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) must cease all practices of enforced disappearances as well as short-term enforced disappearances and ensure prompt release and protection of all arbitrarily detained civilians.
4. The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to conduct a prompt, impartial, and transparent investigation into all cases of torture, arbitrary arrest, and extrajudicial killings related to recent protests, and provide protection for victims and witnesses. The Institution should also intensify monitoring to specific components in the incidents such as the excessive use of crowd-control weapons including tear gas, batons, and rubber bullets, to tactical vehicles particularly in the incident where a ride-hailing driver was run over by a Brimob tactical vehicle during the demonstration.
5. The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) to ensure genuine legislative oversight by summoning the Chief of Police for public accountability hearings, demanding explanations for the unlawful repression, and guaranteeing that all future crowd-control operations strictly comply with national law and international standards.
   The DPR must also immediately expedite the deliberation and passage of laws safeguarding labor rights, social protection, and civic freedoms.
   As the very institution being protested by the people, the DPR cannot hide behind repression, it must face Indonesian civil society directly, listen to their grievances, and act responsibly to restore public trust. As the main actor being protested by civilians, the parliament should also directly face Indonesian civil society elements as the protest.
6. The DPR must immediately ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED) and adopt necessary domestic legislation to prevent recurring practices of enforced disappearances, ensure timely and impartial investigations, and to hold all perpetrators accountable.
7. The President of Indonesia publicly condemn police violence, guarantee the protection of the right to peaceful assembly, and ensure Indonesia’s full compliance with its international human rights obligations, including the requirement that any trials related to the police violence during demonstrations be conducted in a transparent and open manner. The police should conduct evaluation in handling demonstrations by prioritizing a non-violent approach.

[Read the full statement and list of signatories at: manushyafoundation.org.]