Vendors' time limited at Monas<\/p>\n
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
More than 1,300 street vendors at the National Monument
\n(Monas) Park, most of whom operate on Saturdays and Sundays, will
\nbe evicted as soon as the Central Jakarta park is fenced off, an
\nofficial said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We can only provide space for some 600 street vendors. We
\ncannot accommodate all the (1,300) vendors,\" Central Jakarta
\nDeputy Mayor Sabungan Parlindungan said at a hearing with the
\nCity Council.<\/p>\n
The hearing was also attended by councillors from the
\ncouncil's Commission B for economic affairs and Commission D for
\ndevelopment affairs as well as dozens of street vendors.<\/p>\n
Sabungan said 600 vendors who operate daily at Monas would be
\ngiven space on an open plot near the park's southern parking lot.<\/p>\n
He did not explain whether the mayoralty would impose taxes on
\nthe vendors, most of whom sell food and beverages.<\/p>\n
It is common knowledge that the vendors usually pay fees to
\nmayoralty officials in order to be allowed to operate in the
\npark.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, the vendors, who were accompanied by
\nactivist Edi Saidi from the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), demanded
\nto be allowed to continue operating in Monas.<\/p>\n
\"We asked the mayoralty to allow all the traders to operate
\nalong the sidewalks or near the pond in the western part of the
\npark,\" Edi told reporters.<\/p>\n
Councillor Dani Anwar urged the mayoralty to designate a
\nlocation in the park for the vendors so that they could be
\nmanaged properly.<\/p>\n
\"Before the mayoralty can give them new jobs, the vendors
\nshould be accommodated,\" Dani of the Justice Party said.<\/p>\n
The installment of a Rp 9 billion, three-meter-high fence
\naround the park is aimed at preventing vendors from operating in
\nMonas.<\/p>\n
Currently, the vendors sell their wares, especially on
\nSaturdays and Sundays, in almost all parts of the park, the
\nnorthern and southern parts of which face the presidential palace
\nand City Hall respectively.<\/p>\n
Many feel that the aim of the fence around the park is to
\ndeter protesters. Since the downfall of president Soeharto, the
\npark has become a popular site to stage demonstrations.<\/p>\n
The city administration has been criticized for reducing
\npublic space with the installment of fence.<\/p>\n
The planned eviction of street vendors in Monas adds to a long
\nlist of victims of Sutiyoso's hard policy against poor people in
\nthe city.<\/p>\n
Last week, thousands of street vendors were evicted from
\nPulogadung and Kampung Rambutan bus terminals in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, who was reelected for a second term earlier this
\nmonth, announced that the city planned to expel illegal migrants
\nin an effort to curb crowding in the capital.<\/p>",
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