It’s truly heartbreaking to hear about the escalating repression in Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto’s leadership. Amnesty International’s recent report, “Building Up Imaginary Enemies,” paints a grim picture of a systematic campaign to silence critics and consolidate authoritarian power, a trend that unfortunately seems to be deepening rather than breaking from the past. It’s as if a dark cloud has settled over the vibrant landscape of human rights and independent thought in the country.
The core of this unsettling strategy revolves around labeling human rights defenders and critics as “foreign agents.” Imagine the chilling effect this has on individuals and organizations simply trying to advocate for justice and transparency. It’s a classic tactic: if you can’t defeat an argument with facts, discredit the person making it by painting them as an outsider, someone whose loyalty is suspect. This isn’t just about harsh words; it’s about systematically chipping away at the legitimacy of civil society, independent journalism, and anyone who dares to question the status quo. The report highlights how this “harmful and stigmatizing” approach is being expertly woven into public rhetoric and expertly coordinated online campaigns, all designed to deflect attention from real grievances and shield those in power from scrutiny.
A particularly disturbing example of this hostile environment is the case of Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator for KontraS, a human rights organization. Andrie, a vocal critic of Indonesia’s increasing militarization, became a target of relentless online disinformation. In March 2025, a year before a horrific acid attack, an account linked to President Prabowo’s Gerindra party began circulating a video. This video, seemingly crafted to sow distrust, labeled Andrie and other activists as “foreign agents” trying to undermine the military. It’s hard to imagine the emotional toll of such a public smear campaign, but the situation escalated dramatically. On March 12, 2026, Andrie suffered a brutal acid attack in Jakarta. What’s even more chilling is that the online attacks didn’t stop there. Anonymous social media accounts began spreading vile accusations that he staged the attack for financial gain from foreign sources. The subsequent investigation and the arrest of four military officers from the Indonesian Strategic Intelligence Agency are deeply unsettling. It directly links the state’s security apparatus to this heinous act, transforming the “foreign agent” label from a mere smear tactic into a tangible threat to personal safety and life itself. Beyond the physical and emotional scars, being labeled a foreign agent in Indonesia carries a severe legal risk. The newly enforced Criminal Code now allows for imprisonment of up to 10 years for individuals accused of “entering into relations with persons or organizations domiciled abroad” to “overthrow or take over the government.” This is a stark warning that simply engaging with international partners, a vital aspect of human rights work, could land you in jail.
The irony is that, as one anonymous senior journalist shared with Amnesty, President Prabowo himself seems to resort to this labeling when he’s unable to offer satisfactory explanations or responses. “He has been building up imaginary enemies in people’s minds,” the journalist confided, highlighting the deliberate cultivation of fear and suspicion within the populace. This isn’t just a misstep; it’s a strategic move to control the narrative and silence dissent by creating a pervasive atmosphere of distrust. The report specifically details four major disinformation campaigns. Three of these were orchestrated through social media accounts allegedly linked to at least 63 military-affiliated entities, targeting human rights defenders protesting military law revisions, participants in the ‘Indonesia Gelap’ protests, and the independent media outlet Tempo. The fourth campaign focused on the Centre of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS). What’s clear is that this isn’t a sporadic occurrence; it’s a well-organized and widespread effort to discredit and undermine critical voices.
A common and insidious pattern in these campaigns involves taking legitimate international partnerships, cross-border solidarity, or donor relationships and twisting them into elaborate conspiracy theories. The campaigns exploit these connections to paint organizations receiving foreign funding as having “covert mandates” to destabilize and undermine Indonesia. It’s a masterful manipulation of truth, taking an innocent collaboration and turning it into something sinister. A poignant example is the campaign against Tempo, a respected media outlet. A viral TikTok video ingeniously combined an edited snippet of a speech by President Prabowo, where he cautioned citizens about “foreign forces who always want to divide Indonesia,” with decontextualized references to Tempo’s Media Development Investment Fund. The video then shrewdly stitched these elements together, presenting Tempo as a “foreign element wrapped in the mask of media independence,” all without offering a shred of evidence that the fund compromised its journalistic integrity. This is more than just propaganda; it’s a carefully constructed narrative designed to erode public trust in independent institutions and ultimately, in the power of truth itself. The silence from the Indonesian minister of state secretariat and the presidential office, despite OCCRP’s attempts to solicit comments on the report’s allegations, speaks volumes and further amplifies the concerns raised by Amnesty International. It reflects a reluctance to engage with legitimate criticism and accountability, a troubling sign for the future of human rights in the country.