Following UGM, Undip's Student Executive Board Also left BEM SI

TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - The Student Executive Board of Diponegoro University (Undip) in Semarang announced its withdrawal from the All-Indonesian People's Student Executive Board (BEM SI) Alliance due to the presence of politicians, regional officials, police officers, and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) officials at the national conference held at Dharma Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, on July 13–19, 2025.

The statement by the Undip BEM withdrawing from the BEM SI alliance came one day after the BEM SI National Conference. The day before, the Gadjah Mada University Student Executive Board (BEM KM UGM) expressed a similar stance.

Undip BEM Chair Aufa Atha Ariq stated that the presence of officials and the congratulatory message in the form of a wreath from the West Sumatra Regional State Intelligence Agency (BIN) were inappropriate amidst various student demonstrations facing repression by authorities in various regions. "It's inappropriate. We should be discussing the escalation of the student movement and focusing on collective solidarity," Ariq said when contacted on Sunday, July 20, 2025.

The forum was attended by the General Chair of the United Indonesia Party (Perindo), the Minister of Youth and Sports, the Deputy Governor of West Sumatra, the Chief of the West Sumatra Regional Police, and the West Sumatra Regional State Intelligence Agency (BIN). Officials, politicians, police, and members of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) were also seen attending and taking photos together. A photo of a wreath bearing the words "congratulations and success" from the Head of the West Sumatra BIN was included.

According to Ariq, the National Conference should have been a strategic space for formulating the direction of student movements in fighting for the people's interests. However, the Conference instead deviated from the integrity and unity of the student movement by giving the stage to a number of officials, police, and regional BIN officials. The Conference, he said, instead became a platform for officials to curry favor and deviate from intellectual values.

After holding a meeting with the Undip Student Executive Board (BEM) alliance, the Undip BEM took a stance against joining the BEM SI Alliance. "We are reluctant to be part of the decline and division of the movement," he said.

He invited all elements of the Indonesian student movement to reflect deeply, upholding the principle of maintaining the movement's integrity. Ariq stated that the Conference should have been filled with deliberation and consensus that upholds democracy.

However, the forum instead displayed practical political dynamics and was rife with power struggles in the election of administrators. The Conference became chaotic, and several students were injured.

Rifaldi, the head of the Dharma Andalas University Student Executive Board (BEM), who was also on the event committee, said the committee invited officials, politicians, police, and the regional State Intelligence Agency (BIN) on the grounds that they were part of the regional leadership coordination forum (Forkominda) in West Sumatra, which opened the ceremony.

He explained that their presence was also part of the event's technical aspects, as the management of the participants' accommodation at the Hajj Dormitory stipulated that it must be with the knowledge of Forkominda in West Sumatra. "We are committed to not compromising our independence in criticizing those in power," he said.

Rifaldi explained that the flower wreath from the regional BIN arrived unexpectedly at the event location. "We immediately took it down because there was no prior information that BIN had sent congratulations," he said.

He explained that the chaos among the National Conference participants was part of the dynamics of the movement. The conference invited 300 students gathered at the BEM, including students from Brawijaya University, Airlangga University, Udayana University, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Diponegoro University, Bandung Institute of Technology, Sepuluh November Institute of Technology, Semarang State University, and Mulawarman University.

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