Protest rally delays local and international flights
Protest rally delays local and international flights
TANGERANG (JP): Traffic heading to and from the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport here was blocked for at least three hours
on Saturday afternoon by some 300 angry protesters, causing
delays of several international and domestic flights.
None of the protesters, believed to have been upset after
being banned from running illegal businesses at the airport, were
arrested by the police.
Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto Iskandar said
four of them, identified as Udin, Basuki, Soleh, and Rubiah, were
only questioned.
Airport records showed that the delayed international flights
included those leaving for Hong Kong, Riyadh, Singapore, and
Taipei.
The domestic ones included those with end-point destinations
of Padang in West Sumatra, Pekanbaru in Riau, Pontianak in West
Kalimantan and Semarang in Central Java.
Witnesses said that the protesters, mostly residents living
near the vast airport complex, started to occupy the entrance
gate outside the airport's premises at the toll road to Jakarta,
from midday until 4 p.m.
They allowed no vehicles, including the Damri airport buses,
to pass through, causing a traffic jam kilometers in length.
A couple, who witnessed the blockade, said that some of the
vehicles, whose drivers decided to pass through, were pelted by
stones.
But officer Pudji insisted that no such incident happened
during the protesters' barricade.
He said the people finally dispersed after police threatened
repressive action against them.
Detik.com reported that the protesters stopped the blockade
and abruptly sprinted to different directions after witnessing
the arrival of a troop of the police elite Mobile Brigade.
When asked about the protesters' demands, the officer refused
to comment, saying that his duty was to keep the airport safe.
"You should contact the officials of Angkasa Pura II (the
airport operator) as it was their internal affair," he said,
Head of the airport operator branch, Arifin Razak, was unable
to be reached and no company officials were willing to give
comments.
However, a well-informed police officer at the scene said it
was an old dispute between the company and the local residents.
"The residents protested Angkasa Pura's recent raid against
them and their business at the airport premises in which they
were driven from the airport compound," the officer said under
the condition of anonymity.
The residents, he said, usually flock the airport to work as
unofficial parking attendants, car washers, and food sellers.
The airport authorities, he added, had to finally ban these
people following complaints from many passengers.
It has been reported in the press on several occasions that
the illegal workers often forced people to use and pay for their
service.
After disbursing them the first time, Angkasa Pura allowed
them back to their businesses and even distributed free T-shirts
to them after the residents pledged to organize themselves.
Once, the firm also offered some amount of money and
vocational training for the residents to start small-scale
businesses instead of working in the airport.
"But it seemed that the residents prefer fast money instead of
having their own businesses," he added.
When conditions returned again to a state of disorder, the
company decided to expel all of them.
Passengers at the international airport had long complained
about the presence of the people, as they often caused
discomfort.
The airport is also noted for the crowd of unauthorized people
who act as ticket agents and brokers for unlicensed taxis, often
following the passengers, particularly women. (05/ind)