Street singers protest high stapple prices

JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of street singers staged a protest on Wednesday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, demanding a reduction in staple food prices and the return of all missing activists.

Grouped in the Artist Forum for Reform (Foker), the singers chanted "hungry" and staged a theatrical performance. They also unfurled a big banner reading: "Return all the abducted activists dead or alive."

After a one-hour protest which caused minor traffic disruption, they marched on to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation's (YLBHI) office on Jl. Diponegoro, about three kilometers away.

Many street vendors and pedestrians joined the march as police officers looked on.

Group coordinator Mochamad Yamin said the sociopolitical situation was driving low-income people to their wit's end because members of President B.J. Habibie's government were too concerned with self-interest.

"We feel obliged to voice our concern as we're part of the people who are increasingly confused by the government officials and political figures," Mochamad said.

The singers, who brought along their guitars, tambourine and traditional bamboo flutes, said they would return to their usual work hangouts as soon as the protest was finished.

Total, an eight-year-old student of state Padang Baru elementary school in Pasar Minggu, said he joined the protest on the expectation of traffic congestion outside Hotel Indonesia.

"I won't have to wait for the red light at the traffic lights any longer as vehicles and motorists will surely stop," he said.

Ucuk and Kancil, who usually operate at the Pancoran junction said it was "fun" to tail along with elder singers to protest even though they missed hours of earning money.

"We'll get free food and drink afterward anyway," said Ucuk, 9. He added that a group of activists had agreed to provide them with the refreshments at Foker's base in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta.

Iwan Parau, a dropout of a private university in Surakarta, Central Java, said he was deeply concerned by the country's situation.

"It's really sad in some villages. I witnessed how poor people suffered because rice and other staple foods are very expensive. Some of them are even forced to eat snails," he told reporters. (emf)