Street singers protest high stapple prices

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)