Protestors Rally Against Slum Demolition In Jakarta

Jakarta, Nov 11 (Antara) - People from several organizations staged a rally outside the Merdeka Palace here on Tuesday to protest against the Jakarta city government`s policy to raze down slums in the capital. "The amount of demolition budget fund in Jakarta increased sharply in 2014," remarked spokesman of the Indonesian People`s Struggle Federation (SPRI) Marlo Sitompul. Sitompul noted that the demolition budget allocated by the city public works office rose to Rp3.9 trillion in 2014 from Rp79.4 billion in 2013. The demonstrators also voiced their objections to Bylaw Number 8 of 2007 on public order, he affirmed. He explained that the bylaw had the potential to legitimize the demolition of slums in the capital and urged the city government to issue an anti-demolition bylaw. "The number of demolished slums has increased to 80 this year from 71 in 2013," he pointed out. Besides the SPRI, several organizations also held demonstrations outside the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday to protest against the government`s plan to hike the prices of subsidized fuel oils. They also urged the government to revise the manpower minister`s Regulation Number 13 of 2012 on the official descent living standards (KLH) and to form an alternative party to rally the workers` interests.