Acid attack shakes Indonesia as army returns to fore
Source · Geopolitics desk
— Summary
A March acid attack on 27-year-old activist Andrie Yunus — a vocal critic of expanding military powers under general-turned-president Prabowo Subianto — has intensified fears of democratic backsliding in Indonesia, the world's third-largest democracy. Motorcycle riders threw a bottle of acid at Yunus's face as he drove home at night, leaving him with burns over 20% of his body and a sharp decline in vision in one eye. The attackers were identified as active-duty soldiers.
The chief of the military intelligence agency where the soldiers work has stepped down, and four soldiers face trial this month in a military court. Rights groups say critics, campaigners and journalists have faced growing intimidation from government and military since Prabowo's 2024 election. "The attacks on activists and press freedom are indicators that our civic space is indeed shrinking, and this is affecting the quality of democracy," said Anis Hidayah of the National Human Rights Commission.
The shock reverberates because Indonesia has spent a quarter-century building civilian oversight of the military after Suharto's three-decade dictatorship. Under Prabowo — a former Suharto-era general — reformasi-era firewalls are being tested, and military officers are returning to civilian roles. Source: Financial Times, 22 April 2026, A. Anantha Lakshmi and Diana Mariska.
The story in one line. An acid attack by active-duty soldiers on an Indonesian activist has become the most visible test yet of how far Prabowo’s government will let the army re-enter civilian life.
Key numbers
20% of Andrie Yunus’s body burned; sharp decline in vision in one eye
4 active-duty soldiers identified as attackers, facing military court
Chief of military intelligence stepped down
2024 Prabowo Subianto elected
Indonesia: world’s 3rd-largest democracy
Why it matters
The case is a stress test for Indonesia’s post-Suharto compact. If military courts deliver a credible verdict and the intelligence chief’s resignation holds, the reformasi framework survives a hit but holds. If the trial produces light sentences and the intimidation continues, Prabowo’s government signals that the army’s civilian rehabilitation is quietly under way.
Takeaway
Indonesia’s democratic backsliding is incremental rather than abrupt. The Yunus attack is the single vivid data point that international observers and Indonesian civil society can rally around. How Jakarta handles the trial — and the intelligence portfolio afterwards — will tell the region whether the reformasi firewalls still hold.
Source: Financial Times, 22 April 2026, A. Anantha Lakshmi and Diana Mariska.