This wave of rebellion, starting in late August 2025, was caused by the accumulation of anger over various political and economic issues. There was no single issue. Everything escalated with a massive increase in house taxes across the region, due to the government’s budget deficit. At the same time, members of parliament received a tenfold increase in wages. This was exacerbated by officials’ often arbitrary statements. For example, the Regent of Pati said that taxes would not be reduced, even if a mass demonstration of 50,000 people took place. Pati was the first city to explode with a turnout of around 100,000 people on August 10, 2025. Protests against the tax increase spread to Bone, then to other cities. During a demonstration in Jakarta, an online transportation worker was killed after being run over by a police vehicle. The following day, demonstrations spread to many cities, and they continue to this day as we publish the update. At least ten civilians were killed, several officials’ homes were looted, and half a dozen House of Representative offices were partially burned or burned to the ground. We were confident this rebellion would subside, but the public’s anger did not.
There are too many organizations, networks, and groups formulating demands. Even each city has its own unique demands. There are two revolutionary demands: the first from the Perserikatan Sosialis (PS), and the other, a loose, informal, and decentralized network that issued the Declaration of the Indonesian Federalist Revolution 2025, which calls for the dissolution of the unitary state and the DPR system and its replacement with a Democratic Confederalism of thousands of people’s councils for the implementation of direct democracy. Progressive liberals call for a more reformist call, the 17+8 demand. Insurrectionary anarchists, individualists, and post-leftists focus on attacks and street clashes, calling for the destruction of the state and civilization, but without bothering with a platform or program. There is no united front, but we avoid excessive ideological sectarianism.
While there’s no single issue, the discourse simultaneously centers on three: tax increases, police violence, and, most importantly, the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Perhimpunan Merdeka hasn’t yet taken a position, but it’s participating in every demonstration in its respective cities and using it to expand its network. We are calling for the global people’s movements solidarity to support our struggle in Indonesia through a variety of tactics and methods.
Long live the revolution!
Perhimpunan Merdeka
