CIVICUS discusses recent protests in Indonesia with Yati Andriyani, a lawyer, human rights defender and board member of Indonesia for Humanity (Untuk Kemanusiaan, IKa). Founded in 1995, IKa is a civil society organisation that mobilises resources to strengthen grassroots communities and advance human rights, gender rights and environmental justice for social transformation.
Protests erupted across Indonesia in August following parliamentary approval of substantial pay rises for lawmakers. What began as protests against these salary increases escalated into violent unrest after police killed Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old man, prompting calls for investigations into security force violence and bringing issues of lack of trust in political institutions to the fore.
