Police Facilitate Dialogue Between Free Nutritious Meal Programme Supporters and National Nutrition Agency
The police facilitated two representatives of peaceful demonstrators supporting the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme to meet with officials from the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) at the agency’s office in the Kebon Sirih area of Central Jakarta on Wednesday. The two representatives were delegated by the crowd to request that BGN leadership meet the demonstrators directly for a dialogue regarding their various aspirations.
Metro Gambir Police Chief AKBP Agus Ady Wijaya stated that the police had sought to facilitate the delivery of the crowd’s aspirations through a representative mechanism to maintain a conducive situation. “Several officials are ready to receive the representatives. We have prepared vehicles and are ready to escort the representatives to hold discussions at the BGN office,” Agus told the demonstrators. He urged the crowd to entrust the process of conveying their aspirations to the appointed representatives and to maintain order while awaiting the outcome of the communication with BGN. “We are making every effort to assist and serve,” Agus said.
One of the posters carried by the demonstrators called for the MBG programme not to be discontinued, but rather for its implementation system to be improved. The action coordinator stated that the crowd hoped to engage in direct dialogue with BGN leadership because the issues raised concerned the certainty of cooperation implementation for programme partners. “BGN must improve its system so that this programme can continue. We are sending two representatives to invite BGN leadership to meet the demonstrators directly,” the action coordinator explained. According to the coordinator, the demonstrators would await the results of the two representatives’ communication and hoped that BGN leadership could attend to dialogue with the crowd. As of the time this report was filed, the two representatives remained inside the BGN office, while hundreds of demonstrators continued to hold their ground on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan under the security of police officers.