Over one million attend big bash at Monas Park

By K. Basrie and Yoko N. Sari

JAKARTA (JP): On a rare historic occasion, over half a million people jammed the Monumen Nasional (Monas) Park yesterday for Kenduri Nasional, the National Thanksgiving Party led by President Soeharto.

It was a special occasion for many as the head of state mingled with the crowd during the party.

The number increased to over one million in the evening, when a captivating display of fireworks bathed the monument in bright colors, dominated by red and white, the colors of the national flag.

The organizing committee distributed 56,000 invitations, but when the ceremony started at 4 p.m., the crowd reached over half a million. Among them were groups invited from the city's 265 subdistricts, each bringing a tumpeng (rice cone). Each subdistrict sent around 200 people, all dressed in the traditional Betawi costume of a white collarless shirt for the men and a red kebaya for the women.

"It's a once in a lifetime event, we're proud of doing this," said Abdurrachman, a Central Jakarta resident who claimed his group had the largest tumpeng.

The invitees, including foreign ambassadors, also wore traditional Betawi costume. They created a spectacular red-and- white scene at the huge park, where 27 mobile stages had been set up. No less than 250 traditional drummers and 15 large drums were sounded at 3 p.m. to accompany 2,000 dancers. The number of dancers did not include those from outside Jakarta.

The gathering was opened with a prayer and followed by the President's cutting of a large tumpeng. Soeharto then gave a piece of rice cone to each person representing the freedom fighters and neighborhood community chiefs.

The tumpeng cutting was followed by the release of 50,000 red and white balloons by Mrs. Tien Soeharto and a song, Tembang Lestari, by folk singer Leo Kristi, who wrote the song for the event.

Many in the crowd begun filling the park as early as 1:30 p.m., not minding the traffic jams and difficulties of getting to the gathering.

"I just wanted to see Pak Harto (the president) and the fireworks," said Sumiati from her wheelchair, when asked why she did not watch the event from TV at home.

Another was a 25-year-old blind man, Budi, who also came for the fireworks.

"I could see them from the joy of others," Budi explained when asked how he could possibly see the fireworks.

The crowd grew larger at around 6 p.m., when it was estimated that the number had surpassed one million.

A number of tourists expressed disappointment with being barred from entering the park on the grounds that they were not in red and white. Several tourists, however, were seen carrying the national flags on their backpacks, apparently affected by the festive mood.

Fireworks

The fireworks, a gift from the government and people of France, started at 8:05 p.m., half an hour earlier than planned.

The decision was made to calm down the crowd, many coming from outside Jakarta, who seemed impatient to see the display. The half-hour firework show was accompanied by dangdut, jazz, classical and traditional Indonesian music, closed by Gebyar Gebyar, a song by noted Indonesian musician Gombloh. All the melodies were synchronized with the firework patterns.

Various configurations, including those of the French and Indonesian flags, painted the bright sky around Monas Park. The fireworks were designed by French artist Pierre-Alain Hubert, dubbed as the King of Fireworks. Shouts of delight were heard from the spectators when a monumental waterfall design in silver sparks dropped from the top of the monument.

Sure enough, the fireworks calmed down the crowd, who stopped jostling to enjoy the show, including a silhouette of a Javanese Gatotkoco dance projected onto the monument.

A total of 5,500 officials, including members of the armed forces, were deployed to safeguard the event.

As soon as the firework display was over, many left, crowding all the roads around the park. However, more remained to dance with the singers and musicians who performed on the five entertainment stages. The most crowded stage was the one sponsored by the West Jakarta mayoralty, where noted Indonesian singers and musicians, including ballad singer Iwan Fals, and rockers Achmad Albar, and Renny Jayusman, performed. No less crowded was the one sponsored by the East Jakarta mayoralty, which presented popular dangdut music. The other musicians and artists were Benjamin S, Atik CB and Ikang Fauzi.