Vendors demand free health treatment

JAKARTA: Around 300 street vendors in Ciledug traditional market staged a rally on Sunday afternoon demanding the government provide free health care.

The protesters staged the rally in front of Waluya Sejati Abadi clinic on Jl. H. Mencong, Ciledug, Tangerang, which was officially opened by Taufik Kiemas, husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri and also chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The vendors demanded the government provide free medicine and medical treatment on a regular basis, not just during disasters such as the recent floods, which hit the capital in late January, early February.

They were disappointed that they were unable to talk directly to Taufik, who, after the ceremony, left the clinic under tight security. -- Antara