Customers protest at BI

Customers protest at BI

SURABAYA: A demonstration of hundreds of customers of the
Cipta Arta Lestari secondary bank entered its second day on
Tuesday when the protesters marched to the provincial branch of
the central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI).

Demonstrators who crowded the Bank's grounds on Jl. Pahlawan
unfurled a banner reading "Post of Cipta Arta Lestari bank
customers, Allahu Akbar (God is Great)" while security personnel
looked on. The protesters said they were forced to go to BI as
they could no longer withdraw their money from Cipta Arta.

Cipta Arta had been sealed and the management has promised to
return customers' money in five months, Antara reported Tuesday.

"We will stay here until we get information from Jakarta
because BI told us to wait for a meeting in Jakarta," said
customer Suwadi, who said he had about Rp 6 million (US$520) in
Cipta Arta. The bank owned by Cipto has around 3,000 customers in
Surabaya.

Some customers said they wanted to burn down the bank after
failing to locate the owner. Suwadi said he had been a customer
for four years, and that interest rates had reached 35 percent
before the bank was suddenly closed.