VCD vendors demand right to operate

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.