Thousands protest against Sutiyoso

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of people from all walks of life, from becak (pedicab) drivers and street vendors to bankers and stock exchange brokers, staged rallies in different parts of the city to object to Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech, which was presented before the City Council on Thursday.

They cited Sutiyoso's poor performance during his five-year term and voiced their objection to the nomination of Sutiyoso as a gubernatorial candidate for the next one.

The demonstrations were staged mainly at the Council building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, which was tightly guarded, causing traffic jams in the area for hours.

Sutiyoso apparently did not let the rallies bother him as he was enjoying good time with Miss Universe 2002 Oxana Fedorova at the City Hall, located behind the Council building.

Sutiyoso smiled a lot while dancing poco-poco (a traditional dance) with Oxana and other guests. Sutiyoso, who had to look upward to view the face of the 180-centimeter-tall Russian celebrity, sang in English during the 45-minute event.

Protesters in front of the Council building included those from the Betawi (native Jakartans) Students Forum and the Urban Poor Consortium, as well as members and supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

"He does not deserve to be governor -- he is our enemy," said a protester from the Victims of July 27, 1996 Tragedy Forum.

Sutiyoso, who was then Jakarta military commander, is implicated in the bloody attack on the party headquarters on July 27, 1996, which claimed five lives and injured hundreds of others.

Interestingly, dozens of professionals staged a similar rally outside the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta.

"As professionals, we're not ignorant of this matter. We judge him by his performance and he is not good enough," Aji Barata of the Indonesian Professional Society (MPI) said.

"You see, he can't even guarantee our security," he said, referring to the JSX bombing two years ago and the currently high level of crime in the city.

MPI also called for a direct gubernatorial election.

Professionals here rarely participate in demonstrations. JSX professionals took a stand in 1999 to object to the presidential candidacy of B.J. Habibie.