Yogyakarta — The DIY Student Press Coalition (Persma DIY) and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Yogyakarta held a rally at the Bundaran UGM traffic circle on Sunday, 26 July 2026 afternoon, in response to President Prabowo Subianto's remarks, calling journalists, analysts, and NGOs "londo ireng" or "black Dutch," during his speech at the 28th anniversary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) on Thursday, 23 July 23 2026
Afkar Aristoteles, head of the advocacy division at AJI Yogyakarta, said the president's remark violated Indonesia's Press Law.
"I explicitly state here that actions like this violate the Press Law. Things like censorship, and also restricting and directing hatred toward journalistic work, which is actually a pillar of democracy," he said.
He added that the rally was a collective initiative driven by student press groups, who invited AJI Yogyakarta to join, rather than the other way around, reflecting their own awareness of the threat to freedom of expression.
Havines Orlando, a representative from LPM Arena at the State Islamic University (UIN), read the coalition's official statement, which condemned the labeling as a threat that could delegitimize the journalism profession and undermine press freedom.
The statement said the president's remark was not merely political rhetoric, but a statement carrying significant political weight from a head of state that could build a stigma portraying journalists who scrutinize those in power as serving foreign interests.
The coalition also referenced the Dead Press Society investigative series by Project Multatuli, which has documented patterns of information restriction since the start of Prabowo's administration, as well as the blocking of journalistic content from Magdalene.co under Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs Decree No. 127 of 2026, citing both as evidence that pressure on the press has not occurred in isolation.
In its statement, the coalition urged President Prabowo to issue a clarification and public apology to the press community, called on the government to guarantee journalist protections under the 1999 Press Law, and demanded the repeal of regulations that could open the door to censorship, including a review of Government Regulation No. 71 of 2019 and the revocation of Decree No. 127 of 2026.***
