Activists briefly held for moeking politicians<\/p>\n
Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Police briefly detained two activists for handing out cotton
\nbuds to legislators that they said never listened to the common
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The cotton buds were slipped under the doors of rooms at Hotel
\nMulia near the Assembly premises, where most legislators taking
\npart in the People's Consultative Assembly session stay.<\/p>\n
They were held on charges of \"disturbing\" the lawmakers on
\nduty.<\/p>\n
Each cotton bud was put inside a small plastic wrapping
\nlabeled \"Special cotton bud for Indonesian Assembly members\". The
\nother side of the wrapping read: \"Huh, why do you never listen to
\nthe people's aspirations? So clean your ears before attending the
\nsession!\"<\/p>\n
The activists were identified as Pista Alisah and Yani
\nKristanti of the Coalition of NGOs. They also handed the earwax
\nremovers out to legislators at the upscale hotel.<\/p>\n
The NGOs have been critical of the legislators' deliberations
\nover the past week, especially on the constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n
The pair were reported to the police by the hotel's security
\nguards who secretly watched them on the 17th floor, their fellow
\nactivists said. No legislator was reported to have any objection
\nto what the activists did.<\/p>\n
They had managed to distribute the buds to 150 rooms when the
\nhotel's security guards chased them into the elevator and
\nconfronted them.<\/p>\n
The hotel's security guards handed them over to the police on
\nduty who then rushed the women to the Jakarta City Police
\nheadquarters, ignoring activists' bitter protests.<\/p>\n
Pista and Yani were released after being queried for about two
\nhours. They were required to be available any time the police
\nneeded them for further questioning.<\/p>\n
Smita Notosusanto, executive director of the Center of
\nElectoral Reform (CETRO), condemned the police action, saying the
\npolice had no legal basis for the arrests since there was no
\ncomplaint from the legislators.<\/p>\n
\"We had committed no crime. We have done this sort of campaign
\nfor three years and only now have we been arrested,\" said Smita
\nat the Assembly building.<\/p>\n
The incident forced the NGOs' to cancel a media briefing on
\ntheir objections to the constitutional amendment that the
\nAssembly is set to endorse.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/activists-briefly-held-for-moeking-politicians-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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