At least 24 people were arrested in Surabaya on Friday after an anti-government protest turned violent, with demonstrators hurling rocks and firecrackers at police and setting fire to rubbish in the road. The arrests, confirmed by the rights group KontraS Surabaya and an advocacy coalition including the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, followed a rally by hundreds of people who identified themselves as the Anti-Capitalism Front and local residents’ groups. Police questioned those detained until the early hours of Saturday but did not press charges. Surabaya police chief Luthfie Sulistiawan said officers took “firm actions” after a group began vandalising property and throwing projectiles after dusk, endangering the public.

Indonesian police maintain that the intervention was a response to provocation and property damage. However, the advocacy coalition alleges that plainclothes officers carried out random arrests, including of individuals not involved in the unrest, and has demanded the immediate release of all detainees, access to legal counsel, and an end to violence against protesters. The demonstrators’ demands extended beyond the immediate trigger of a roughly 30 per cent increase in non-subsidised fuel prices. They called for the cancellation of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme and the associated village cooperative scheme, the revocation of laws governing the police and military, the dissolution of the military’s territorial command structure, and greater budget allocations for education and health.

The Surabaya unrest is part of a broader wave of protests across Indonesia, including in Jakarta and Wonosobo, where students, workers, and small-business owners have voiced opposition to the fuel price rise and the multi-billion-dollar meals initiative. The programme, a cornerstone of Prabowo’s political agenda, has been partly suspended during a holiday period from 22 June to 13 July to save over 3 trillion rupiah (approximately 168 million US dollars), according to government statements cited by regional media. It has also been linked to mass food poisonings and allegations of corruption; last month the president dismissed the head of the national nutrition agency and two deputies for what were described as administrative crimes. Economists quoted in Arabic-language coverage note that populist and interventionist policies are unsettling investors, while the World Bank has warned that economic growth may not exceed 5 per cent, below the government’s 5.4 per cent target, as the rupiah weakens and the stock market has fallen by roughly a third since the start of the year.

Viewed from Jakarta, the protests represent the most significant test of public order since August and September 2024, when nationwide demonstrations over lawmaker perks spiralled into deadly clashes with security forces after a police vehicle killed a delivery driver. Rights groups recorded 10 deaths and thousands of arrests during that period. The current detentions have not yet led to charges, and the advocacy network is pressing for the release of all those held. The government has not signalled any change to the fuel pricing policy or the meals programme beyond the temporary suspension, and further protests are expected as economic pressures persist.