Strikes hit some cities as anti-govt protests continue

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Mass strikes by public transportation drivers commenced in a number of cities on Monday as street protests against recent hikes in utility prices continued in several parts of the country.

In the port city of Cirebon, West Java, hundreds of public transport drivers serving the Cirebon-Indramayu route went on strike to protest the increase in fuel prices, particularly diesel fuel.

"The strike is the only action we can take to attract the government's attention so it will listen to our grievances," Darmaji, a 42-year old driver who was among the demonstrators, told The Jakarta Post.

A similar strike was held by dozens of drivers in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, leaving thousands of students and city commuters stranded in the streets.

"Every day we are lost, because our incomes and expenditures do not balance out as a result of the increased fuel prices," Andi, a driver in Pekanbaru, was quoted by Antara as saying.

Last week, the government cut fuel subsidies which raised the prices on some gasoline products by 22 percent, and bumped up electricity and telephone charges by an average of 6 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

More strikes are expected throughout the country as bus operators have begun to feel the impact of the fuel price increase.

Mustofa, head of the East Java chapter of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), said that about half of the 4,000 private buses linking cities in the most densely populated province would halt operations because they could not afford it.

Meanwhile, thousands of students, non-governmental organization activists and other people marched the streets in many cities on the islands of Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Bali. Their numbers ranged from a few hundred protesters to more than 1,000.

In Jakarta, several groups took turns picketing Merdeka Palace, demanding the government to reverse the hikes in utility rates immediately.

The demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans and urged President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz to step down for failing to side with the poor in their national policies.

Instead of raising utility prices, they said the government should confiscate the assets of major business debtors to offset the budget deficit.

The protests in Jakarta were not as big as was predicted days earlier, but the protesters claimed that Monday's rally was only the beginning of a moral movement aimed at seeking support from others.

Fathul, secretary of the Student Executive Board (BEM) at the University of Indonesia, threatened to organize bigger demonstrations should the government refuse to heed the protesters' demands.

BEM would also encourage the people to boycott paying taxes, as well as electricity and telephone bills, if the price hikes were not annulled, he said.

In the West Java capital of Bandung, hundreds of students and activists from social and political organizations demonstrated at the provincial legislative council to oppose the simultaneous hikes.

"We urge Megawati and Hamzah Haz to resign shortly to show responsibility for the policy that has, at most, brought only further suffering for the people," Fajar Zulkarnaen, chairman of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Student Association, said during a rally in Bandung.

Protests also hit Surabaya, the nation's second largest city, with demonstrators slamming the government's decision to raise the utility tariffs.

The protests proceeded in a generally peaceful manner across the country, except for several arrests in Jakarta and in Makassar, South Sulawesi, with some protesters arrested for trampling on a picture of Megawati.

In a response to the widespread protests, the government said on Monday it had no plans to overturn the decision on the price increases, arguing that the House had approved the 2003 State Budget in which the government proposed a huge cut in subsidies for fuel and electricity.

Previous fuel price hikes sparked violent protests across the country, which led to the ouster of then-President Soeharto in 1998.