Deep Spending Cuts in Indonesia Trigger Protests Against Prabowo

Students rallied in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities on Thursday to protest President Prabowo Subianto’s state budget revamp that has threatened contractual workers’ jobs, rolled back scholarships and dimmed lighting at government offices.

In the capital, students called on the president to review his $30-billion free meal program and cancel the $19-billion planned spending cuts, among other demands, according to a widely circulated statement. They banded together under the “Dark Indonesia” movement spread on social media.