Monas cafes to reopen on Feb. 15

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)