Street singers protest high stapple prices<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of street singers staged a protest on
\nWednesday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central
\nJakarta, demanding a reduction in staple food prices and the
\nreturn of all missing activists.<\/p>\n
Grouped in the Artist Forum for Reform (Foker), the singers
\nchanted "hungry" and staged a theatrical performance. They also
\nunfurled a big banner reading: "Return all the abducted activists
\ndead or alive."<\/p>\n
After a one-hour protest which caused minor traffic
\ndisruption, they marched on to the Indonesian Legal Aid
\nFoundation's (YLBHI) office on Jl. Diponegoro, about three
\nkilometers away.<\/p>\n
Many street vendors and pedestrians joined the march as police
\nofficers looked on.<\/p>\n
Group coordinator Mochamad Yamin said the sociopolitical
\nsituation was driving low-income people to their wit's end
\nbecause members of President B.J. Habibie's government were too
\nconcerned with self-interest.<\/p>\n
"We feel obliged to voice our concern as we're part of the
\npeople who are increasingly confused by the government officials
\nand political figures," Mochamad said.<\/p>\n
The singers, who brought along their guitars, tambourine and
\ntraditional bamboo flutes, said they would return to their usual
\nwork hangouts as soon as the protest was finished.<\/p>\n
Total, an eight-year-old student of state Padang Baru
\nelementary school in Pasar Minggu, said he joined the protest on
\nthe expectation of traffic congestion outside Hotel Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"I won't have to wait for the red light at the traffic lights
\nany longer as vehicles and motorists will surely stop," he said.<\/p>\n
Ucuk and Kancil, who usually operate at the Pancoran junction
\nsaid it was "fun" to tail along with elder singers to protest
\neven though they missed hours of earning money.<\/p>\n
"We'll get free food and drink afterward anyway," said Ucuk,
\n9. He added that a group of activists had agreed to provide them
\nwith the refreshments at Foker's base in Kampung Melayu, East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Iwan Parau, a dropout of a private university in Surakarta,
\nCentral Java, said he was deeply concerned by the country's
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
"It's really sad in some villages. I witnessed how poor people
\nsuffered because rice and other staple foods are very expensive.
\nSome of them are even forced to eat snails," he told reporters.
\n(emf)<\/p>",
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