On Monday, February 17, in a series of demonstrations across Indonesia, students challenged President Prabowo Subianto. The protests continued all week, culminating in major events on Friday. Organized under the hashtag #IndonesiaGelap or #DarkIndonesia, the protesters oppose a range of the new administration’s policies, including budget cuts of Rp306.7 trillion (US$19 billion), the role of the military in domestic governance, nepotism, corruption, and the surprisingly controversial free school lunch program.
President Prabowo’s austerity measures triggered the angry outbursts. University students fear deep cuts to funding for schools will hurt their education. Others point to poorly funded government offices…