Five activists held for child labor march<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Five labor activists remained in police custody
\nSaturday after their arrest the previous day for involvement in
\nthe local staging of the Global March against Child Labor, a city
\npolice spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said Saturday the members of the
\nIndonesian Committee for the Global March Against Child Labor
\nwere accused of violating a requirement for permits for public
\ndemonstrations.<\/p>\n
The Global March Against Child Labor is sponsored by the
\nUnited Nations.<\/p>\n
If found guilty, the five could receive five-year prison
\nterms.<\/p>\n
\"We'll complete the dossiers as soon as possible,\" he said,
\nbut he declined to identify the five.<\/p>\n
The activists and 35 child workers arrived by bus at the
\nMinistry on Manpower office on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta
\nFriday for a scheduled dialog with officials, the committee said
\nin a statement released Saturday.<\/p>\n
It continued that the march participants were met at the
\nministry by riot police, who hustled them into a police truck.
\nThey were taken to the city police headquarters for questioning.<\/p>\n
The children were released later on the day.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
\ndenounced the arrests as \"a violation of human rights for the
\nfreedom of expression\".<\/p>\n
In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post Saturday,
\nthe rights body said two of its lawyers were providing legal
\ncounsel for the children and activists.<\/p>\n
A member of the committee, Rostymaline Munthe, contended 14
\nactivists -- not five as the police said -- were still in
\ncustody.<\/p>\n
\"I've taken all the children back. They have not been charged
\nwith any offenses,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Rostymaline said her husband, Arist Merdeka Sirait, the
\ndirector of the Indonesian Committee for the Creative Education
\nof Child Labor Foundation (KOMPAK), was among those still in
\npolice detention.<\/p>\n
Global March Against Child Labor, a worldwide activity, is
\nsupported by the Indonesian government. As many as 86 countries
\njoined the event, held from Feb. 12 - Feb. 14.<\/p>\n
Nationally, an estimated 2.1 million children are forced to
\nwork. They are part of the 250 million children working
\nworldwide. (cst\/aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/five-activists-held-for-child-labor-march-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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