Major's office besieged for return of pedicabs

Major's office besieged for return of pedicabs

JAKARTA (JP): The seizure of three becak (pedicabs) operating
in a prohibited zone resulted in a headache for North Jakarta
officials on Wednesday when their offices were surrounded by some
450 pedicab drivers, who demanded the return of the three
vehicles.

The angry-looking becak drivers, as usual under the
coordination of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), a non-
governmental organization, also threatened to invade the offices
unless the mayoralty returned their colleagues' cash totaling Rp
90,000 (US$10.35), some tool kits and three cans of lubricating
oil, which they said had gone missing from the pedicabs which
were netted in a raid last week.

Fearing that the pedicab drivers would turn violent, the
mayoralty met the demands even though the officials denied that
they had found any such items in the pedicabs.

"We had to accede to their demands to stop them from taking
further action," staffer Imam Supandi from the socio-political
affairs section said.

The return of the cash was covered by the mayoralty's budget
while the tools and oil were taken from the mayoralty's stock.

The pedicab drivers explained that each of the becak had a can
of lubricating oil used for its wheels.

The drivers arrived at the mayoralty offices on Jl. Yos
Sudarso in Tanjung Priok in some 300 pedicabs and on a truck at
around 8:30 a.m.

The crowd left the scene immediately after their demands were
met by the mayoralty officials. No damage was reported. Some
police and military personnel were seen monitoring the protest
from a distance.

According to Imam, the three pedicabs were seized last week on
a major street near Kelapa Gading in line with a court ruling on
July 31 which stipulated that pedicabs were prohibited from
operating on main streets, except in residential complexes.

"These pedicabs were not only operating on a major road but
were also going against the traffic flow.

It was absolutely against the rules," Imam added.

In the mayoralty, pedicabs are found in the Penjaringan and
Tanjung Priok districts.

Wednesday's incident was the second time pedicab drivers in
Jakarta, with the help of the UPC, have forced a local government
to accede to their demands by assembling in large numbers and
threatening mayoralty offices.

Several weeks ago, some 400 pedicab drivers attacked the East
Jakarta mayoralty office, leaving the front gate of the office
damaged and one mayoralty security officer injured, during a
protest demanding that local authorities halt their operations
against pedicabs.

"Actually, we feel that the UPC has created a major problem
for us, and we really hope the city administration can do
something about it," Imam said.

"The mayoralty has been very understanding with the pedicab
drivers, but they act as if they're completely in the right and
can do as they please anywhere in the capital," he remarked.
(dja)