Indonesia: 'Eat the Rich' Protests Target Graft, Wildfires

• Thousands of Indonesians protested in Jakarta and other cities against economic hardship, corruption, and the government's handling of devastating wildfires.
• Demonstrators displayed signs like 'Hungry? Eat the Rich!' and used 'The Hunger Games' rebellion salute, expressing anger at President Prabowo Subianto's low approval ratings.
• Protesters demanded that forest and land fires be declared a national disaster, transparency in the Free Nutritious Meals program, and action on social welfare issues.
• Police deployed 14,000 officers and soldiers in Jakarta, using tear gas against crowds who hurled bottles and burned trash.
• The government acknowledged concerns, stating it prioritizes environmental issues and has deployed over 72,000 personnel for firefighting and distributed 5.3 million masks.

Demonstrators carried placards bearing stark messages such as "Hungry? Eat the Rich!" and "If we burn, you burn with us," reflecting a potent mix of anger and desperation.

Thousands of Indonesians took to the streets in Jakarta and other major cities on Wednesday, demonstrating against a range of pressing issues including economic hardship, pervasive corruption, and the government's perceived inadequate response to devastating wildfires. The protests, which saw many participants adopting the three-finger salute associated with rebellion from "The Hunger Games" franchise, highlighted deep-seated public discontent. Demonstrators carried placards bearing stark messages such as "Hungry? Eat the Rich!" and "If we burn, you burn with us," reflecting a potent mix of anger and desperation.

In Jakarta, approximately 14,000 police officers and soldiers were deployed to manage the demonstrations. Eyewitness accounts described confrontations near the central Bundaran HI public square, where officers attempted to control the surging crowds. Police resorted to firing several canisters of tear gas, while some protesters retaliated by throwing plastic water bottles and setting trash ablaze in the streets. The protests eventually began to disperse about six hours after they commenced, coinciding with the onset of rain.

The demonstrations were fueled by widespread frustration with President Prabowo Subianto, whose popularity has reportedly plummeted to record lows two years into his term amidst allegations of extensive government corruption and increasing authoritarian tendencies. Signs directly targeting the president included a pejorative reference, "Hey Wok! Nobody paid us. We all hate you for free," and a pointed environmental critique, "No Clean Air Under Dirty Government." Protesters voiced specific demands, urging the government to declare forest and land fires a national disaster, advocating for greater transparency in the budget allocations for the Free Nutritious Meals program, and calling for urgent action on social welfare issues.

The human toll of the environmental crisis was a central theme. Sekar, a 37-year-old protester, expressed profound distress over the plight of fellow citizens battling months of wildfires and toxic haze, compounded by a weakening currency and rising prices. She stated her intention to protect students leading the demonstration, vowing to defend them against any police intervention. Annette Mau, 47, from the Indonesian Mothers' Alliance, a non-governmental organization, underscored the severe health impacts, noting that "Hundreds and thousands of people are suffering" from the fires, with "Tens of thousands of babies suffering from health problems" due to the inability to breathe clean air from the toxic haze.

The protest organizing committee, known as SADAR (meaning "aware" in Indonesian), framed the action as a "revolution that is being proclaimed," specifically demanding a national emergency declaration to unlock additional resources for combating the wildfires across the vast archipelago. Data from deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas indicates that over 4.7 million acres were destroyed by blazes in the first nine months of the year, contributing to the widespread toxic haze that has blanketed the region.

In response to the public outcry, the Indonesian government issued a statement on Wednesday, acknowledging that it "understands the concerns raised by students regarding environmental issues, the economy, education, legal reform and governance, as well as the protection of human rights and democracy." The government affirmed these five areas as "priorities." Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana detailed efforts to address the crisis, reporting that more than 72,000 personnel have been deployed for firefighting operations, alongside over 2,100 doctors and health workers, and the distribution of 5.3 million masks. The pervasive haze has also strained Indonesia's diplomatic relations with neighboring countries; Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met with President Prabowo in Jakarta on Wednesday, a day after remarking that the haze was "not a natural phenomenon" and the fires "were caused by human" activity.

Source: Original reporting via AFP