SURABAYA: A violent clash broke out on Monday in the Indonesian metropolis of Surabaya between police and demonstrators protesting against the country’s newly passed military law, journalists witnessed.

Around 1,000 students and activists dressed in black participated in the protest in front of an East Java government building. Holding posters that said “Reject the Military Law”, and “The Military Should Return to the Barracks”, protesters hurled rocks, sticks, and Molotov cocktails towards the police guarding the demonstration.

Police eventually used water cannons to disperse the protesters at around 7pm. “We received information that 25 people are being detained right now, but until now we are still unable to give legal assistance to them,” Fatkhul Khoir, a human rights acti­vist from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, said.

He said that some of the protesters taken to the police office looked bruised. The Indonesian parliament approved the amendment of the military law on Thursday, despite protests that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs.

The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defence in a country long influenced by its powerful armed forces.

The new law allows active military officers to hold a position in 14 government institutions without resigning, an increase from 10 institutions in the previous law.

The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of late dictator Suharto, under whom Prabowo, an ex-general, once served and which saw military figures used to crack down on dissent.

Rights groups have said the change would enable officials to fill more civilian posts with active-duty military personnel and weaken legal checks on abusive officials.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025