Indonesia
Intellectuals call for the government to restore the independence of key state institutions to support the rule of law and end misallocation of state funds for initiatives including President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs.
Student protestors hold banners, including one reading "Indonesia in Emergency", during a rally against a rise of non-subsidized fuel prices and the free nutritious meal program on June 15 in Surabaya, East Java. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
Calls for sweeping political and institutional reforms are intensifying ahead of President Prabowo Subianto’s much-anticipated State of the Nation address, with the latest coming from academics warning of a deepening national and democratic crisis.Dozens of academics and intellectuals from the Interdisciplinary Intellectual Forum (FIAD), an independent intellectual collective, convened at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in Central Jakarta on Thursday to launch a 16-page manifesto, outlining a three-stage set of demands to make Indonesia a “just, democratic, sovereign and sustainable state”.
Among those involved in the manifesto were University of Indonesia (UI) professors Manneke Budiman, Sulistyowati Irianto and Theddeus OH Prasetyono, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) astronomy professor Premana Premadi, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) sociologist Arie Sudjito and writer Okky Madasari.
