Prabowo brands critics 'foreign agents' as arrests mount

President Prabowo Subianto has increasingly labelled his critics as tools of foreign powers, and rights advocates warn the language is being used to justify a crackdown at home. Writing for Indonesia at Melbourne, Nava Nuraniyah describes how Prabowo has accused civil society groups and research institutes of being Western-funded and waging "cognitive warfare," a phrase suggesting they attack the nation's mind rather than serve the public.

The pattern grew after large youth-led protests in August 2025, sparked by anger over police violence, spending cuts, and a plan to raise lawmakers' benefits. Prabowo branded the protesters "antek asing," meaning foreign lackeys, and officials described the unrest as a foreign-planned "colour revolution," a term the author traces to Russian state media rather than any real evidence. The response has been heavy: more than 6,700 activists were arrested, and by February 2026 some 703 were still being held.

The government is now drafting a bill against "foreign propaganda and disinformation," written largely behind closed doors, which has drawn public alarm. The author sees an echo of Prabowo's tactics in 1998, when he spread conspiracy pamphlets against critics, and warns that today the same approach runs through coordinated social media accounts pushing talk of shadowy global elites.

Why it matters

For anyone who protests, researches, or reports on the government, being cast as a "foreign agent" can turn criticism into a crime and lead to arrest. A new law drafted in secret could widen that net further. Watch what the disinformation bill actually says when it appears, and whether the hundreds still held after last year's protests are released or charged.