Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific strongly condemns the brutal crackdown on mass protests in Indonesia that began on August 25, 2025. The demonstrations which represent the peak of public frustration over worsening inequality and destructive pro-oligarchic policies, have been met with state violence instead of dialogue. At least ten people have been killed and 3,337 protesters have been arbitrarily arrested, including students and activists, with most being detained without due process and denied access to lawyers.
We denounce the excessive use of force by security forces, including the deployment of expired tear gas that endangered public health. We also condemn the government’s attempts to silence the media and restrict access to information, which serve to blur the reality on the ground and shield state violence from scrutiny. Rather than showing accountability or addressing people’s demands, the authorities have dismissed the protests as treason, terrorism, and foreign interference. Instead of demonstrating open and solution-oriented leadership, they have chosen rhetoric that spreads fear. This approach ignores the long history of peaceful protests in Indonesia and risks escalating the cycle of violence, leading to further casualties.
Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific fully supports the people’s 25 demands, a few of which require immediate implementation, while others are long term reforms to be implemented within one year (in Indonesia, this is also referred to as ’17+8 Demands from the People‘). Among the urgent points are the immediate release of all detainees, an independent investigation into protester deaths, freezing parliamentary perks, full transparency in state budgets, stronger protections for workers, accountability for police violence, and the withdrawal of the military from civilian protest response. The long-term demands, to be achieved within one year, call for structural reforms such as ending corruption and impunity in Parliament, strengthening anti-corruption bodies and political parties, passing asset recovery and tax reform laws, ensuring deep reform of the police, removing the military from civilian affairs, and reviewing harmful economic and labor policies including the Job Creation Law and National Strategic Projects. These demands reflect the people’s aspiration for justice, accountability, and a genuine democracy.
We also echo the demands put forward by Wahana Lingkungan Hidup (WALHI), our Indonesian member group (FoE Indonesia), urging the government and Parliament to immediately apologise to the victims of state violence, ensure physical and psychological recovery for all affected demonstrators, and guarantee the unconditional release of all those detained. Further demands include structural reform of the police, a halt to unjust and destructive policies such as the National Strategic Projects and fossil energy expansion, meaningful public participation in law-making, and to refrain from deploying the military during any demonstrations and protests by citizens.
This moment is not only about defending the right to protest. It is also about protecting the environment and the future of democracy in Indonesia. The same state institutions that repress citizens on the streets are also the ones that enable destructive projects, silence and criminalise environmental defenders, and sacrifice people’s livelihoods for corporate interests. Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific stands firmly with the people of Indonesia, upholding ecological justice, social equity, and democracy that prioritises people and the planet over profit.
The solidarity we’ve been seeing from those in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines has been inspiring, and we call on the rest of the international community to follow suit by:
- Pressuring the Indonesian government to immediately and unconditionally release all detained protesters.
- Demanding an end to violent repression, excessive use of force, and the criminalisation of dissent.
- Raising the alarm globally that the silencing of democracy in Indonesia is not only a national tragedy but a direct threat to human rights, justice, and sustainability everywhere.
