Five activists held for child labor march

JAKARTA (JP): Five labor activists remained in police custody Saturday after their arrest the previous day for involvement in the local staging of the Global March against Child Labor, a city police spokesman said.

Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said Saturday the members of the Indonesian Committee for the Global March Against Child Labor were accused of violating a requirement for permits for public demonstrations.

The Global March Against Child Labor is sponsored by the United Nations.

If found guilty, the five could receive five-year prison terms.

"We'll complete the dossiers as soon as possible," he said, but he declined to identify the five.

The activists and 35 child workers arrived by bus at the Ministry on Manpower office on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta Friday for a scheduled dialog with officials, the committee said in a statement released Saturday.

It continued that the march participants were met at the ministry by riot police, who hustled them into a police truck. They were taken to the city police headquarters for questioning.

The children were released later on the day.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) denounced the arrests as "a violation of human rights for the freedom of expression".

In a statement made available to The Jakarta Post Saturday, the rights body said two of its lawyers were providing legal counsel for the children and activists.

A member of the committee, Rostymaline Munthe, contended 14 activists -- not five as the police said -- were still in custody.

"I've taken all the children back. They have not been charged with any offenses," she said.

Rostymaline said her husband, Arist Merdeka Sirait, the director of the Indonesian Committee for the Creative Education of Child Labor Foundation (KOMPAK), was among those still in police detention.

Global March Against Child Labor, a worldwide activity, is supported by the Indonesian government. As many as 86 countries joined the event, held from Feb. 12 - Feb. 14.

Nationally, an estimated 2.1 million children are forced to work. They are part of the 250 million children working worldwide. (cst/aan)