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Indonesian students and activists protest government handling of wildfires in Jakarta

Several cities · pinned on Jakarta, Indonesia · Oct 20, 2026

Is it still on?

NOIt was a one-day action on Oct 20.

Last report · checked

The Tea in three lines

Why they are protesting
Protesters are angered by the government's inability to extinguish severe forest fires and control toxic haze.
What they want
Demonstrators demand concrete action, effective firefighting efforts, and decisive climate measures.
What changed
Oct 21: Police detained six activists who draped protest banners from a monument in Jakarta.
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Both sides

What protesters want

  • Extinguish the fires immediately
  • Declare a state of emergency
  • Take decisive climate action

Organised by: Greenpeace

What authorities say

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Berton Panjaitan stated that more than 60,000 firefighters and volunteers were deployed countrywide alongside 49 aircraft for water bombing and cloud seeding. Police also detained six activists in Jakarta.2

The numbers

Only figures a source states, with who said it. Estimates often differ.

Arrests / detentions
6
Police detained six activists who had draped Greenpeace protest banners2

The full story

Students and activists gathered in Jakarta to protest the government's handling of an intense wildfire and toxic haze crisis, coinciding with the two-year mark of President Prabowo Subianto's administration. Protesters gathered at the Heroes Monument in Menteng, Central Jakarta, to voice frustrations regarding inadequate responses to forest and peatland fires, rising living costs, and health disruptions. Separately, activists from Greenpeace unfurled banners demanding climate action before being detained by police. Similar demonstrations erupted in other cities across Java, Sumatra, and Borneo islands. The government reported deploying tens of thousands of firefighters and aircraft for water bombing and cloud seeding to combat the blazes.

Timeline

  1. Police detained six activists in Jakarta following a banner drop at a central roundabout.2

  2. Students and activists protested in Jakarta and other cities against the government's handling of wildfires.24

Pins sit on city centres, never on gathering points

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