People ran amok at Monas<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): About 100 people ran amok at the National
\nMonument (Monas), Central Jakarta, here on Tuesday as officials
\nfrom the mayoralty and the Central Jakarta District Court came
\ninto conflict with street vendors prohibited from selling in the
\narea.<\/p>\n
A tent, erected to accommodate summary court proceedings
\nagainst street vendors apprehended for illegal trading, was
\ntorched during the fray. Several wooden chairs and desks inside
\nthe tent were also burned.<\/p>\n
According to Oktofianus, one of the security officials at
\nMonas, the operation was not specifically aimed at rounding up
\nvendors in the area that day but rather to conduct proceedings on
\nsome 20 people, mostly vendors, who had been ticketed during a
\nprevious operation several days earlier.<\/p>\n
He maintained that security officials at the time were merely
\ncirculating around the area while appealing to other vendors not
\nto conduct business in the prohibited area around Monas.<\/p>\n
However the appeal was apparently not well received as several
\nvendors rushed off to Gambir train station adjacent to Monas.<\/p>\n
Not long after, some 100 people armed with small daggers and
\nother offensive weapons marched from Gambir train station to the
\ncourt tent and attacked the officials.<\/p>\n
\"They knocked down military police motorcycles parked near the
\ntent and frightened everyone. There were only about 30 officials
\non the scene, so we had to run to save our lives,\" Oktofianus
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
Eight men, however, were taken to the Central Jakarta Police
\nstation for questioning. Two were detained for possession of
\nweapons. (07)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/people-ran-amok-at-monas-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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