Urban poor hold rally

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)