August 19, 2026 | 04:39 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hundreds of students from various universities dispersed after holding a rally near the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at around 6:10 p.m. WIB. They had originally planned to stage their protest directly at the HI Roundabout, but officers from the Jakarta Metropolitan Police blocked the access roads leading to the landmark.
Ultimately, the demonstrators were forced to voice their demands along Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, roughly 700 meters away from the roundabout. "Reject MBG (Free Nutritious Meals)..." the students chanted as they dispersed, marching toward the General Sudirman statue.
The Jakarta Metropolitan Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto of stated that authorities disallowed the rally at the HI Roundabout out of concern over traffic disruption. "The HI Roundabout is Indonesia's center of gravity," Budi said after the students dispersed on Tuesday.
He explained that the HI Roundabout area is home to major shopping malls, economic centers, transportation hubs, and foreign embassies. If traffic grinds to a halt around the HI Roundabout, Budi noted, gridlock would spill over to the Horse Statue, Semanggi, and Sudirman.
Budi added that if these main roads are paralyzed, traffic in Slipi and Gatot Subroto would be impacted as well. "Jakarta will be paralyzed if the HI Roundabout is used as a venue for demonstrations," he said.
Earlier in the day, the students outlined eight core demands directed at the government. Their demands included ending state colonialism over its citizens, eradicating corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN), implementing genuine agrarian reform, lowering fuel and basic commodity prices, conducting a comprehensive evaluation of national strategic projects (PSN), and terminating both the Free Nutritious Meals program and the Red and White Village Cooperative.
The students also demanded that the government end the centralization of power, cut regional transfers (TKD), and restore regional autonomy. Additionally, they called for declaring a national disaster status for Sumatra and Flores, accelerating recovery in disaster-stricken regions, halting all military (TNI) and police (Polri) repression and intervention in civilian spaces, and disbanding the Territorial Development Infantry Battalion.
Read: 21 Arrested Ahead of BEM UI Protest at HI Roundabout
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