Activists demand Dita's release<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Some 30 women workers and activists of the
\nIndonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) staged a protest at the
\nMinistry of Justice to demand the release of fellow activist Dita
\nIndah Sari who is serving a six-year jail sentence at the
\nTangerang Correctional Institution.<\/p>\n
They protested on Tuesday against what they believed to be the
\ngovernment's discriminatory treatment of political prisoners and
\njailed labor activists.<\/p>\n
\"Many political prisoners jailed arbitrarily by former
\npresident Soeharto's regime have yet to be released. One of them
\nis Dita Sari. We want the government to release her immediately,\"
\nFarahdiba Agust, a labor activist, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
She claimed that Dita, the secretary-general of the Center for
\nIndonesian Workers' Strife (PPBI), had never been involved in any
\npolitical activities and that she had served enough time in jail
\nbecause of her fight for workers' welfare.<\/p>\n
Dita, along with fellow activist Wilson bin Nurtivas, was
\narrested in May 1995 for organizing massive labor rallies in East
\nJava's capital of Surabaya to demand that the government raise
\nworkers' minimum wages from between Rp 2,800 and Rp 4,750 to Rp
\n7,000 per day.<\/p>\n
In April 1997, the Surabaya District Court sentenced her to
\nsix years imprisonment for subversion. She was also found guilty
\nof organizing labor demonstrations that generated into riots in
\nJakarta in the same year.<\/p>\n
Wilson, who was sentenced to five years in jail on the same
\ncharges, was released in July 1998. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/activists-demand-ditas-release-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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