Remember Tanah Abang

The American invasion of Iraq has grabbed the attention of the world, including Indonesia. Television stations here have been showing images of people from all levels of society protesting against the war.

I think it would be good for the protesters also to raise the issue of Tanah Abang, which was recently gutted by fire that was allegedly set on purpose. This is important so that the Tanah Abang market will remain in the hands of the people, and not in the hands of people like Tomy Winata.

The Tanah Abang market has an annual turnover of Rp 15 trillion, of which the Jakarta administration pockets some Rp 15 billion in taxes.

The fire damaged nearly half of the market's more than 7,000 kiosks and put 2,000 or so traders out of business.

The Jakarta administration should have declared the Tanah Abang fire to be a national tragedy and then taken the proper steps to help the vendors. The government channeled hundreds of trillion of rupiah through recapitalization programs to help corrupt tycoons and bank owners.

If mass organizations and non-governmental organizations are able to provide the funds and mobilize demonstrators to stage rallies in front of the U.S. Embassy, they should also be able to do the same in front of the governor's office.

Helping the vendors of Tanah Abang could be seen as being comparable with helping the oppressed.

TONTOWY DJAUHARI HAMZAH, Jakarta