Jakartans invited to rally against fencing of Monas

Jakartans invited to rally against fencing of Monas

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakartans have been invited to flock to the National Monument
(Monas) square on Sunday and make a human chain as a protest
against the installment of a fence around the park, being built
by the city administration using Rp 9 billion in public money.

The event coordinator, architect Marco Kusumawijaya revealed
that some 4,000 people from the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) and
the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), were prepared to join hands
in the human chain.

He said several noted figures, including political expert
Arief Budiman, musician Harry Roesli, chairwoman of the
Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) Emmy Hafild and female
novelist Ayu Utami would take part.

"The human chain is a symbol of our rejection of the city
administration's effort to reduce public space and to highlight
the worst of the city's policies," Marco told The Jakarta Post on
Saturday.

He said that Monas square, or Lapangan Merdeka, like many
squares in cities around the world, should not be closed off, but
left open as a public space.

He also stated that Monas square had never been closed since
the first Dutch governor had it built two hundred years ago as
the beautiful centerpiece of the city.

"Lapangan Merdeka is a public square, which should not be
closed to the public," The Belgium-educated Marco, who was
nominated by Fakta as a gubernatorial candidate, said.

He considered the installment of a fence around the famous
square as a militaristic approach by the administration under
Governor Sutiyoso, who was a former Jakarta military commander.

Separately, Fakta's chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan invited
Jakartans who opposed the installment of the fence to join the
human chain which will start at 9 a.m. on Sunday.

"It's a symbol of our protest over the installment of the
fence and also our rejection to the reelection of Sutiyoso,"
Tigor, who, along with other activists was still demanding the
annulment of the recent gubernatorial election, told the Post on
Saturday.

However, he promised that the protest would be conducted
peacefully, and that they would not attempt to break the fence
down, which is about half complete.

The administration earlier claimed that the installment of the
fence was aimed at protecting the square from street traders who
overcrowd the square.

However, many experts said that the installment was aimed at
reducing and controlling demonstrations which are often held
there. They said it was part of Sutiyoso's efforts to win
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's support for his election.

The square is a popular site for street rallies against
Sutiyoso or Megawati as the square faces Sutiyoso's office to its
south and Megawati's Merdeka Presidential Palace to the north.