Jakarta dresses up to greet APEC delegates<\/p>\n
By Johannes Simbolon<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): After a facelift and weeks of preparation,
\nJakarta is ready to welcome all APEC leaders and delegates as
\nwell as foreign businessmen and journalists.<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta is proud to host the APEC leaders meeting and I
\nextend a warm welcome to all media representatives... I am
\nconfident that exciting discoveries await visitors as they
\nexplore the various delights of the City of Jakarta,\" Governor
\nSurjadi Soedirdja said. Surjadi started his term of office in
\n1992.<\/p>\n
Aware that the eyes of the world will be on Jakarta during the
\nAPEC meetings, and that journalists will arrive by the thousands,
\nthe municipality has prepared extra attractions to entice and
\nimpress its thousands of guests.<\/p>\n
Package tours will be offered free of charge, including tours
\nto the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Indonesia's Miniature Park)
\nand Bogor Presidential Palace on Saturday, Nov. 12 and Sunday
\nNov. 13.<\/p>\n
Press dinners are also on the schedule, including one hosted
\nby the Kompas newspaper group on Friday, Nov. 11 and one co-
\nhosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication and
\nthe Ministry of Information on Sunday, Nov. 13.<\/p>\n
Head of Jakarta Tourism Office Fauzi Bowo said five-star
\nhotels where the delegates will be staying will participate in
\nthe Jakarta International Food Festival in cooperation with
\nlocal, well known restaurants.<\/p>\n
There are many other attractions across the city. Jakarta does
\nnot want to miss this opportunity to promote itself and
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
This 467-year-old city, named Batavia by the Dutch who
\ncolonized the archipelago for three-and-a-half centuries,
\nshowcases the economic success Indonesia has accomplished in 49
\nyears of independence, as well as its social and cultural
\neffects, positive and negative. Human interest stories abound for
\njournalists to report.<\/p>\n
The success is clear to see: Dozens of skyscrapers along
\nSudirman, Thamrin, Rasuna Said and Gatot Subroto, Jakarta's main
\nthoroughfares. Elite entertainment centers like Planet Hollywood
\nand The Hard Rock Cafe which present local talent as well as
\nimported class acts.<\/p>\n
But mingling with the business and entertainment centers are
\nthe slums, which cover 2,880 of the 65,000-hectare Jakarta area.
\nIn the less fortunate sections of the city, laborers, vendors,
\nstreet hawkers and beggars play the game of survival every day.<\/p>\n
Clearing away<\/p>\n
There are 8.5 million people living in Jakarta and another
\nthree million commute everyday from satellite towns, Tangerang,
\nBekasi, Bogor, to work here. The next century will see Jakarta
\njoining the mega-cities.<\/p>\n
\"Population is still the main problem in Jakarta,\" Surjadi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Surjadi places housing the poor and curbing the high rate of
\nurbanization at the top of his agenda for his administration.<\/p>\n
But as in most major cities in the developing world, Jakarta's
\nefforts to beautify itself compete with migrants who flood the
\nstreets either as hawkers, vendors or beggars.<\/p>\n
And when Jakarta is assigned to host great events, municipal
\nofficials, eager to clean up the streets, engage in a kind of tug
\nof war with street vendors. Such a fight took place six weeks
\nbefore the Non-Aligned Movement summit in September, 1992.<\/p>\n
Jakarta started clearing away the \"eyesores\" 45 days before
\nthe series of APEC meetings began earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Municipal Public Order Office Kusaeni Budiantoro
\nsaid, so far, his office has netted 286 panhandlers and vagrants,
\n193 street-side traders, 32 traffic-light traders, 12 three-in-
\none children, 12 street singers, 60 prostitutes and 20
\nprostitute-transvestites from main the thoroughfares where APEC
\ndelegates are expected to traverse.<\/p>\n
During the NAM summit most of those netted were kept at the
\nPondok Bambu rehabilitation center in East Jakarta, until the end
\nof the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"For me it's acceptable. Our culture dictates we put on our
\nbest clothes to show our deepest respect to honorable guests
\npaying us a visit,\" an anonymous municipal official said.<\/p>\n
However, to some, the practice smacks of hypocrisy. And such
\ndressing up and clean-up campaigns usually trigger protests.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Street Vendors Association, for example, mailed
\nletters to all papers protesting against the cleansing operation
\non Oct. 26.<\/p>\n
\"We do not know what the APEC meeting is for. We have only
\nbeen told that many foreign guests are coming here for the
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
\"Selling food and drink and other goods along the streets is
\nour only source of income. How can we support our families if the
\nmunicipality prevents us from doing our job?\" the association's
\nleader, Sukirno said.<\/p>\n
The outcries of the disadvantaged people found an echo in some
\nhigh-ranking officials, something which did not happen during the
\nNAM summit.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono, chairman of the APEC Host
\nCommittee, voiced his concern over the fate of those affected by
\npreparations for the APEC leaders meeting.<\/p>\n
\"Don't go all out in the name of APEC. I'm embarrassed,\" the
\nminister said some days before the kickoff of the APEC meetings
\nat the Jakarta Convention Center.<\/p>\n
Days-off<\/p>\n
One problem the municipality is very concerned about during
\nthe APEC meetings is traffic congestion.<\/p>\n
With 6,779.5 kilometers of streets, used by 2,411,628
\nvehicles--mostly private cars--every day, traffic is a nagging
\nproblem to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
When a general rehearsal was staged on Nov. 1 to see how far
\nthe traffic would be affected during the stay of the APEC leaders
\nand their trip to Bogor for the meeting, a total gridlock took
\nplace.<\/p>\n
The experiment prompted the government to declare Nov. 14 and
\n15 public holidays in Jakarta. But in Bogor only Nov. 15, the day
\nof the forum, was pronounced a holiday.<\/p>\n
Before Nov. 14 and 15 were declared public holidays under a
\npresidential decree (when APEC leaders are here), the governor
\nhad repeatedly appealed to the public to avoid the main
\nthoroughfares during those two dates.<\/p>\n
The case was different with the NAM summit when the more than
\n100 leaders all stayed at the Jakarta Hilton Hotel and needed
\nonly to walk through a tunnel to get into the Jakarta Convention
\nCenter (JCC) for their meetings.<\/p>\n
The government felt it necessary to dispel allegations that
\nthe measure had anything to do with security.<\/p>\n
\"The national stability is quite solid,\" Coordinating Minister
\nfor Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman said.<\/p>\n
Since most private and public offices have adopted the five-
\nday work week, the additional two public holidays will provide
\nworkers with a very long weekend<\/p>\n
Trains and buses have been fully booked by people who want to
\nenjoy the long weekend out of the city.<\/p>\n
Jakarta is likely to be deserted, allowing the APEC leaders'
\nconvoys very smooth traffic, for the meetings, the welcome dinner
\non Monday and the farewell dinner on Tuesday.<\/p>",
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