Anti-Prabowo banner at Indonesian university causes suspension, fueling fears of censorship

Three university students inside Indonesia have found themselves in hot water for hanging a banner denouncing the president Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, in what critics say could be the first high-profile case of censorship under the country’s new leadership.

Airlangga University in Surabaya initially suspended the trio from the student council of the faculty of social sciences and politics over the flag, but later bowed to public outcry and reversed its decision. The banner was displayed in front of the university campus on October 22, two days after Prabowo and Gibran were inaugurated in Jakarta.

The message on the banner reads: “Congratulations on the inauguration of ruthless General Prabowo Subianto and ‘Professor 2.3 GPA’ Gibran Rakabuming as President and Vice President of Indonesia, elected through a corrupt constitutional process. Signed Mulyono (Demolition of democracy).”

Explaining the reason for the suspension on October 25, Bagong Suyanto, dean of the faculty of social sciences and politics, told This Week in Asia on Monday morning: “The student council should adhere to academic standards, rather than limiting itself to coarse diction and language use. That is not the academic culture we want to cultivate. This is our message.”

But on the same day, Bagong spoke again to This Week in Asia, saying he decided to reinstate the students but warned them against using “foul language” and called for “their loyalty to the academic culture.”

Bagong Suyanto, a dean of Airlangga University in Surabaya (in white shirt), speaks about the suspension of three students above a banner criticizing President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Photo: Tuffahati Ullayyah Bachtiar

During the first suspension, student council president Tuffahati Ullayyah Bachtiar told This Week In Asia that she and two other members were told on October 25 that they had been suspended indefinitely due to what the dean’s office called their “unethical behavior.”