Govt attempt to appease fails to stem angry protests
Kurniawan Hari and Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Thousands of people throughout the country took to the streets seeking the cancellation of utility price hikes on Thursday despite a decision by the government to delay the increase in telephone charges.
The protesters, whose numbers were far below those of Wednesday, demanded the government annul the hike in electricity charges and restore the fuel subsidy.
Nearly 700 activists grouped in the Women's Opposition Association (Asosiasi Perempuan Menggugat) marched from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to Merdeka Palace on Thursday night, calling on the government to cancel utility price hikes as they were excessively burdensome on the public.
The protesters carried candles and posters with messages urging President Megawati to reverse her administration's decision to raise telephone and electricity charges, and remove fuel subsidies on Jan. 1, 2003.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters staged rallies in front of the State Palace. The protesters, mostly students, also demanded that government annul utility price hikes instead of delaying them.
"Mega oppresses the people! Cut all prices!" yelled the protesters.
According to the student protesters, the government should scrap all tariff increases and arrest the business tycoons who owe billions of U.S. dollars to the state.
"The delay in the telephone charge hike is not enough. All prices must be cut!" one protester said.
Dozens of high school students belonging to Indonesian United Islamic High School Students Action (KAPII) also staged a street rally to pressure the government to reverse its decision.
"We don't want to be the slaves of foreign countries!" said the students, carrying banners reading: "We need welfare, not postponements."
Dozens of Megawati's supporters also staged a rally endorsing the price increases but they disappeared shortly after they realized that they were greatly outnumbered by anti-price hike protesters.
In Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, protesters occupied the PT Telkom offices there and forced Telkom technicians to cut telephone services in the city for five minutes.
Company official La Ode Budidaya told Antara on Thursday that the cut, which took place from 1:30 p.m. through 1:35 p.m., had caused tens of millions of rupiah in state losses.
The protesters, who marched from the Kendari-based Holuoleo University, also planned to force state-owned electricity company PT PLN to cut its services for two hours, but called it off after learning that the body of a dead official was laid out in the PLN offices.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) in East Kalimantan threatened not to pay tax should the government not reverse its decision to increase electricity charges and fuel prices.
Apindo chairman Gunawan Ariwibowo said on Thursday that the association would wait until February before acting on its threat.
Association members and labor activists in Samarinda have been staging protests for the last couple of days. "The increases in fuel prices and electricity charges have driven production costs up by as much as 20 percent," Gunawan added,
In the troubled province of Aceh, student protesters staged a rally outside the state electricity firm PT PLN, protesting the utility price hike.
They said the leadership of Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz did not benefit the ordinary people. The protesters also urged the government to detain embezzlers and seize their assets for the benefit of the people.
Meanwhile, hundreds of businesspeople and workers jointly staged a protest outside the Central Kalimantan provincial legislature in Palangkaraya.
The protesters urged all members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and House of Representatives (DPR) from the province to fight for a delay in the utility price hikes.
They vowed to continue their protest until their demands were met.
Similar protests also took place in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).