Demoteam organizes protest in The Hague
On Friday, September 26, 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo will pay a brief visit to King Willem-Alexander and outgoing Prime Minister Dick Schoof. The topics of discussion for this meeting have not (yet) been announced.
In response to Prabowo’s visit, the RMS demoteam is organizing a protest on Friday, September 26, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Noordeinde 68 in The Hague to raise awareness of the oppression and exploitation in the Moluccas. Moluccans, together with representatives from Papua and Aceh, will join forces in solidarity to voice their support for the freedom and right to self-determination of their people.
Ambities Prabowo
On September 23, Indonesian President Prabowo addressed the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Anyone who reads or watches his speech will conclude that Prabowo wants to position Indonesia as a progressive and democratic country that has the best interests of its people, nature, and environment at heart, and even has the welfare and prosperity of all humanity in mind.
De president pleit in zijn toespraak nadrukkelijk voor een tweestatenoplossing en wil 20.000 militairen ter beschikking stellen voor de vorming van een VN-vredesmacht in Gaza om het conflict tussen Palestina en Israël tot een vreedzame oplossing te brengen.
It is clear that Prabowo is engaged in a charm offensive for Indonesia and sees an important role for himself on the world stage. Indonesia’s strategic location is of great importance in geopolitical terms, and China’s influence is also growing in that part of Asia.
Trade agreement
In a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected through bilateral (free) trade agreements, opportunistic trade spirit prevails. In this context, the conclusion of the CEPA agreement between Indonesia and the European Union is important. Prabowo’s visit to the Netherlands can be seen in that light. Indonesia considers the Netherlands to be an important hub to the European hinterland. Given its strategic role within Europe, the Netherlands is the lever and also an indirect gateway to getting the green light from the individual parliaments of the European member states and agreeing to this trade agreement, which is important for Indonesia.
Working visit
From July 5 to 12 this year, a delegation from the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs paid a working visit. On July 10 and 11, they visited the Moluccas. According to the committee, freedom of the press is one of the most important pillars of democracy. Only the magazine Tempo meets this standard. During its working visit to Ambon, the committee expressed several concerns. Issues such as land disputes, religious intolerance, and the protection of indigenous rights were still identified as ‘challenges’. It was also noted that the Moluccas still feel disadvantaged in relation to Jakarta. The causes cited were the vastness of the country and the geographical relationship between land and sea, which make it difficult to build infrastructure.
Dit zijn van de vaste commissie nog steeds eufemistische bewoordingen voor een ongewenste situatie waarin de bevolking zich bevindt. De commissie spreekt over voelen en kiest zijn woorden zorgvuldig, terwijl de Molukse bevolking de achterstelling niet voelt maar daadwerkelijk aan den lijve ervaart en het Molukse volk een uitdaging ondergaat als een letterlijke tekortkoming.
Repairing damage to Indonesia’s image
From Prabowo’s perspective, restoring confidence in the Indonesian government and repairing Indonesia’s image is understandable. His own son and other family members were imprisoned for corruption. His assignment to rewrite Indonesian history in ten books is also related to this. The bloody aspects and excesses of the actions of his father-in-law Suharto had to be glossed over, which led to many protests from human rights organizations.
Less than a month ago, Indonesia threatened to implode when students in university cities took to the streets in unprecedented mass protests and brought public life to a standstill. Workers’ organizations and sections of the population joined the protests. The discontent was directed in particular against the self-enriching upper class, increasing corruption, nepotism, and Prabowo’s failing poverty policy.
Prabowo is also accused of wanting to increase the role and influence of the army in government and society, reviving the specter of the old New Order. By meeting the students’ key demands in the 17+8 package, the spirit of revolution seems to have been put back in the bottle for the time being. The question is how long Prabowo can suppress the will of the people and their dreams and wishes for a complete reset. In his speech to the United Nations, Prabowo suggests that he wants to save the world while his own country is in disarray.