TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Gerak Solidaritas Belanda or Dutch Solidarity Movement (GSB), a coalition of Indonesian citizens in the Netherlands under the umbrella of Aksi Kamisan Netherlands, held a solidarity walk to the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) in The Hague on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
According to a press release, the event began at 2:00 p.m. in the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) campus and was attended by approximately 400 Indonesians residing, studying, and working in the Netherlands. Participants carried various posters with their demands.
They walked past the Peace Palace, paused in front of the International Court of Justice to lay flowers in a symbolic act of solidarity for victims of state violence, and then continued to Eline Vere Park, which is located directly across from the back of the Indonesian Embassy.
Indonesian Embassy Officials Do Not Meet the Demonstrators
The demonstrators had planned to submit their written demands to the Indonesian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mayerfas. However, the Dutch Police and City Hall did not grant permission for the large crowd to walk to the front of the embassy. The group was redirected to Eline Vere Park.
GSB attempted to invite the embassy to meet the demonstrators in the park. After waiting for more than 30 minutes, during which they delivered speeches and sang, no ambassador or embassy official representative came out.
"The reason given was that the park is a public space in the Netherlands, while the KBRI only agreed to meet with 10 representatives inside the embassy, which is under the jurisdiction of the Indonesian state," said a GSB representative.
The Content of GSB's Demands
During the event, GSB declared a state of emergency regarding state violence in Indonesia, calling it a symptom of a larger structural issue: a new wave of authoritarianism and militarism under President Prabowo Subianto's leadership.
They stated that repression is not only carried out by the Indonesian National Police and Indonesian National Armed Forces but is also legitimized through policies, regulations, and practices that silence dissent, such as media control and the criminalization of demonstrators and activists.
GSB urged a complete cessation of violence and brutality by police, military, and paramilitary forces against the people, and a rejection of tactics used to divide society. They demanded the immediate cessation of arbitrary silencing, arrest, and kidnapping of civilians, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all detained civilians.
The crowd also called for the formation of an independent investigative team to probe the misuse of tear gas, forced disappearances, and killings, and demanded that all perpetrators be brought to justice.
They urged the President not to use unconstitutional power by deploying armed forces, police, military, and paramilitary forces to respond to public criticism.
GSB also opposed the military's presence in civil spaces, rejected media control that stifles press freedom, and urged the President and the House of Representatives to address structural issues through policy reform.
The demands included the elimination of privileged rights and benefits for officials, the prosecution of corrupt individuals, wage increases for workers, the resolution of the job crisis, and the establishment of a progressive tax system.
They also called for the reduction of the state budget unrelated to public welfare, the enactment of the Asset Seizure Bill, the Bill on Protection of Domestic Workers, and the Indigenous Peoples Bill, and the cancellation of the Criminal Procedure Code revision.
Additionally, they expressed support for the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and other national human rights institutions in documenting violations, particularly against vulnerable groups such as children, women, the Chinese ethnic minority, gender and sexual minorities, people with disabilities, and indigenous communities.
GSB also urged KBRI The Hague not to facilitate the agendas of Indonesian public officials that are not in the interest of the people during official visits to the Netherlands.
Support for the 17+8 People's Demands
Following the event, the crowd returned to the ISS for a reflection forum, where they shared their impressions, concerns, and hopes for Indonesia. "I hope this is not the final action, but rather a catalyst for other movements," said a GSB representative.
GSB's demands align with the "17+8 People's Demands," a public call that has gained traction in Indonesia. Since August 25, 2025, a national wave of protests has been triggered by an increase in salaries and allowances for members of the Indonesian House of Representatives amid an economic crisis. Public anger peaked after Affan Kurniawan, an online motorcycle taxi driver, was killed by a tactical police vehicle.
The wave of demonstrations has spread to various cities and resulted in more casualties. The 17+8 People's Demands consist of 17 short-term points, such as the withdrawal of the Indonesian National Armed Forces from civilian duties and the cessation of the criminalization of demonstrators, as well as eight long-term points related to structural reform. The deadline for these short-term demands was set for September 5, 2025.
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