Police Reopen Roadblocks After Student Protest in Central Jakarta

2 hours ago 5

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Police reopened roadblocks in the Dukuh Atas area on M.H. Thamrin Street, Central Jakarta, on Friday night, June 12, 2026, at around 8:45 p.m. WIB, after previously restricting access to prevent student protesters from reaching the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout.

Once the barricades were lifted, traffic gradually returned to normal. While part of the crowd dispersed, a number of demonstrators remained at the site under police monitoring until around 10:00 p.m.

Some protesters briefly occupied sections of the road, carrying posters criticizing government policies, including the Free Nutritious Meals program (MBG) and the Red and White Village Cooperative initiative. They also urged passing motorists to honk in support of their action.

The protest, held under the banner “Towards a Bankrupt Indonesia,” was initiated by a coalition of student groups from various universities. Earlier in the day, the march had moved from Semanggi after their vehicles were blocked from proceeding toward the HI Roundabout.

The students demanded an end to what they described as wasteful state spending, lower prices for basic goods and fuel, the termination of the MBG and village cooperative programs, and an end to military involvement in civilian affairs.

Broader Participation

The remaining crowd included not only students but also workers and online motorcycle taxi drivers. One participant, identified as Tama, said he joined the protest due to the rising cost of fuel.

Separately, a wave of student demonstrations also took place in East Jakarta, where hundreds of students from Jakarta State University (UNJ), under the UNJ Against Alliance, staged a long march in the Rawamangun area.

The protesters set off from the campus carrying banners and voicing their demands through speeches. They outlined ten demands covering economic, education, and democratic issues, including strengthening the rupiah, lowering fuel and staple prices, allocating 20 percent of the state budget to education effectively, and halting the MBG and Red and White Village Cooperative programs.

Action coordinator Ronggo Dharma said the students would continue to press their demands if the government failed to respond. Organizers added that the coalition’s agenda focused on three main pillars: education, the economy, and social justice.

Hendrik Yaputra and Epi Susanti contributed to this article.

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