Urban poor hold rally

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of becak (pedicab) drivers (photo above) held a march on Wednesday to demand that the poor be given the right to earn a living in the capital.

The march, organized by several non-governmental organizations, began at the National Monument and passed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the City Council building, before ending at the United Nations representative office on Jl. Thamrin.

The pedicab drivers demanded the city administration revoke Bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order, which they said was frequently used as the legal basis for apprehending and detaining the underprivileged in the city, particularly street vendors and becak drivers.

According to an activist from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, the city's 474th anniversary, which fell on June 22, was an appropriate opportunity to remind the government and the city administration to focus more attention on the poor, whose rights, particularly the right to earn a living, were being ignored.

As part of their campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the impoverished, the NGOs will hold a dialog involving disadvantaged people, officials from the city administration and city councillors on Friday in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. It is hoped the dialog will help find solutions to the problems of the urban poor, who are often blamed for causing disorder and traffic jams in the capital. (bby)