500 'becak' drivers to meet Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): Some 500 becak (pedicab) drivers will pedal to Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Monday, demanding the President to help settle their dispute with city authorities.

According to a statement from the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) made available to The Jakarta Post on Sunday, pedicab drivers from the Greater Jakarta area plan to bring their problems to President Abdurahman Wahid, who is also known as Gus Dur.

"To the Indonesian President, we, the people of Indonesia working as pedicab drivers, want justice," the statement said.

It said the rally would start at 9 a.m.

The release, however, did not disclose what route the pedicab drivers would take to the presidential palace.

According to City Bylaw No. 11 issued in 1988, pedicabs are banned in Jakarta.

Deputy Governor for Administration Affairs Abdul Kahfi announced on Thursday that the city administration had begun to stop pedicabs from operating on the capital's streets since last week in an attempt to eliminate them by April.

"We expect there to be no more becak in the capital after March 31," he said.

He said some of the pedicabs -- under the approval of the owners or drivers -- were converted to vegetable carts with funding from the authorities.

But UPC, who often organizes rallies for the pedicab drivers, said in its statement that officials from the city administration robbed the becak when drivers were asleep at night. (bsr)