Thousands protest against Sutiyoso

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.