Monas cafes to reopen on Feb. 15

JAKARTA (JP): Street cafes in the National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta, which were damaged and looted by their own security guards on Jan. 18, are scheduled to resume operations on Feb. 15, an official said on Wednesday.

Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah said the present count of 170 cafes, owned mostly by local artists, will drop to 100.

"The drop in the number of cafes took place long before the looting incident. Many of them have been inactive for months," Andi said.

He explained that the cafes would be managed by the mayoralty instead of a private company as they were in the past. The mayoralty is to cooperate with police to improve the security of the cafes.

"I hope there will be no more looting," he said.

He admitted that the existence of the cafes actually violated the Monas site plan, which prohibited any buildings or structures other than the monument itself.

However, the operation of the cafes was temporarily allowed with the aim of providing job opportunities to city residents amid the prolonged crisis, he said.

He said the resumption of the cafes' operation was part of the Monas rehabilitation program, which would also impose restrictions on vendors in the park.

In line with the program, Subur said that it was time now for soldiers, who safeguarded the area by staying in tents on the site, to move to government buildings around the park.

"There are still spaces in the buildings. It's better to move there rather than setting up tents in the park," he said.

Subur said he had sent letters to the Jakarta Military Command and the city administration about the possibility of moving the soldiers.

At least 150 out of the 170 cafes in the park were damaged and looted on Jan. 18 by the guards, who were incensed when their demands for unpaid salaries and Idul Fitri bonuses were rejected by Amijaya, an executive of the private company in charge of managing the cafes.

The cafe owners, who claimed to have suffered Rp 5 million (US$555) each in losses, asked Amijaya to return levies amounting to Rp 300 million they had paid since the opening of the cafes on Aug. 22 last year. (jun)