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Gen-z protests hit Jakarta; 9,500 police deployed
Published : Tuesday, 20 October, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Observer Online Report
Collected Photo
Over 9,500 police personnel have been deployed across the Indonesian capital of Jakarta as Gen-Z students and activists staged widespread protests against the nation's fragile economy and rising cost of living.
According to a report by Reuters on Tuesday (October 20), security forces were mobilized to manage demonstrations across multiple strategic locations in the capital.
Jakarta City Police spokesperson Budi Hermanto confirmed that students from at least two prominent universities are leading rallies. The student union of the University of Indonesia called for the protest movement in response to recent forest fires, a sharp downturn in the stock market, the depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah, and broader economic instability.
Concurrently, environmental advocacy group Greenpeace hung banners at a national monument in Jakarta, demanding immediate government action to tackle the climate crisis and ease the burden of soaring living expenses.
The unrest poses a fresh challenge to President Prabowo Subianto, the former general who assumed office in 2024. Despite taking power with a substantial electoral majority, his populist fiscal programs have drawn criticism for straining national finances and eroding investor confidence.
A poll conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) revealed that President Prabowo's approval rating has plummeted from 81.2 per cent in November last year to a record low of 44.5 per cent this month.
The ongoing demonstrations mark the latest wave of public discontent in Indonesia, following widespread violent unrest in 2025 triggered by the death of a motorbike driver in a police clash, as well as major protests in August that led to hundreds of arrests.
-SA
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
