VCD vendors demand right to operate

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Dozens of street vendors evicted from the front of the Harco shopping center in Glodok, West Jakarta, staged a rally on Monday, demanding they be allowed to reopen their businesses in the area or be given an appropriate solution to their problems.

Robert Nainggolan, head of the vendors' association, led the protest at the center which spans the road between Harco and the Glodok electronic center.

"We demanded the administration clarify the raid by the city public order agency and find us a solution if we are no longer allowed to open businesses here. We also asked the city order officials to return our seized merchandise," he said after opening the rally with the Indonesian national anthem.

The vendors also questioned the agreement made with the West Jakarta municipality in 2000 which stated they could remain in business in that particular spot but had to keep it tidy and organized.

Tomas, one of the street vendors, told The Jakarta Post that the association had tried to model itself on Jl. Malioboro in Yogyakarta, "but only a few of the 600 vendors can afford the expense of making semi-permanent stalls."

Around 150 of the registered vendors were university graduates, he said.

The demonstration only attracted the attention of a few people, including passers-by and Harco tenants, while public order officers and several policemen, deployed to keep the vendors from returning, were on guard.

The public order officers bulldozed the area on Dec. 9 at 10 p.m. as the vendors celebrated Idul Fitri. Besides losing their market and jobs, they also lost their merchandise.

The former market on Jl. Gajah Mada under the Harco shop- bridge, was well known for selling cheap pirated video compact discs (VCDs) and cassettes. Street vendors on nearby Jl. Hayam Wuruk escaped the raids.

Tomas said that a VCD vendor had lost property worth around Rp 800,000 (US$89), not including the wooden display rack, while a soft drink vendor had lost around Rp 500,000. All were unsure if their property would be returned.

Another vendor, who asked for anonymity, suspected shop owners from Harco were behind the raid. He said they disliked the vendors because they obstructed the entrance to their shops and had caused traffic congestion.

"I fear this could spark a fight between the street vendors and the shop owners if the administration fails to give a guarantee that we can reopen our businesses soon here," he told the Post.

Another VCD vendor, Saragih, said the raid was part of administration efforts to prevent non-Jakartans from entering the capital.

"I heard the Idul Fitri bonus we had collected for the city order officers did not reach them. But such raids always take place three days or one week after Idul Fitri," he said.