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Indonesian police have arrested dozens of demonstrators following an anti-government protest in Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city, as opposition grows over President Prabowo Subianto‘s economic policies.
According to rights group KontraS Surabaya on Saturday, 24 demonstrators were detained after Friday’s rally, which drew about 100 participants near a government building.
Demonstrators protested the recent increase in fuel prices and criticised the government’s flagship free school meals programme. During the protest, some participants threw stones at police officers and set rubbish ablaze on the roadway, prompting security forces to intervene.
KontraS coordinator Fatkul Khoir said those arrested were questioned until the early hours of Saturday.
“Police questioned them until 3:30 am on Saturday but did not charge them,” he said.
Surabaya Police Chief Luthfie Sulistiawan said officers were forced to take firm action after some demonstrators hurled projectiles, adding that dozens of people had been detained, although he did not provide an exact figure.
The protests follow the government’s decision to raise the price of non-subsidised petrol by about 30 percent in a bid to ease mounting budget pressures linked to rising global oil prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
The fuel price increase has sparked demonstrations across several Indonesian cities. Thousands of students also marched in Jakarta to oppose both the price hike and the government’s multi-billion-dollar free meals programme, which has faced criticism over its cost and reports of food poisoning incidents. Parts of the initiative have since been suspended.
Indonesia witnessed its largest wave of unrest since Prabowo assumed office in 2024 during protests in August and September, which began over lawmakers’ privileges before escalating after a delivery driver was killed by a police vehicle. Rights groups said those demonstrations resulted in 10 deaths and thousands of arrests, although most detainees were later released.
