The Power of Students

Jakarta, 22 August 2024. Photo: Toto Santiko Budi

It is incredible how in a few days the hot front of the protests has moved from Bangladesh to Indonesia, two of the countries I love the most. There was not even time to celebrate the strength of the students who managed to oust Sheikh Hasina who had been in power continuously since 2009, forming a new government that, hopefully, can soon bring stability to a country still in turmoil, that another group of students – miles and miles away – entered the government offices in Jakarta today to block the review of an ad hoc law, by President Jokowi, that would have allowed his son to run for the next regional elections in November, bypassing the age limit of 30 years for candidates.

This nepotistic decision has unleashed the anger of the Indonesian people who have taken to the streets en masse in Jakarta, Makassar, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Semarang, up to the gates of the palace and inside its rooms forcing the revocation of the proposed law by the cronies of the President.

The two stories run parallel and tell of the arrogance of power, laws made specifically to favor those in government, people tired of passively suffering corruption, and students who carry forward the breath of democracy.

As it was in November 1998, when the police shot at students who were protesting screaming “Reformasi!” on the Semanggi bridge; from that moment on, the anger exploded and led them to occupy the national Parliament in a few weeks, forcing General Suharto to resign after thirty years of despotic power.

Sometimes History is not only cyclical but also runs on parallel tracks.

It almost seems like we are seeing the ancient world of power being swept away by the tide of new generations.

“Ya!
ada yang jaya, ada yang terhina
ada yang bersenjata, ada yang terluka
ada yang duduk, ada yang diduduki
ada yang berlimpah, ada yang terkuras
dan kita di sini bertanya:
maksud baik saudara untuk siapa?
saudara berdiri di pihak yang mana?"
(Rendra, “Sajak Pertemuan Mahasiswa”)

Beautiful Poem quoted by my friend Anton Kurnia

“Yes!

there are those who are victorious, there are those who are humiliated

some are armed, some are wounded

some are sitting, some are occupied

some are abundant, some are impoverished

and here we ask:

For whom do you mean good?

Whose side are you on?”

(Rendra, “Student Encounter Poem”)

Jakarta, 22 August 2024. Photo: Toto Santiko Budi