Alfarizy Ajie Fadhillah, Jakarta – Protesters who are members of the Indonesian Women's Alliance (API) held a long march to the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning June 18.
Wearing all pink clothing and house dresses, the group of housewives brought a loud and clear message of protest by banging kitchen utensils along Jakarta's main roads.
The crowd began moving off from the gathering point on the sidewalk opposite the Dukuh Atas Skateboard Field at around 9 am.
Throughout the march, they not only displayed posters containing their demands, but also held theatrical actions by hitting pans, food trays and spatulas that they had brought from their respective homes.
Three main demands were voiced at the action, namely reducing the prices of basic necessities, creating job opportunities and firmly urging President Prabowo Subianto to stop the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.
According to the protesters, the budget for the program could be urgently allocated to stabilise food prices which are currently burdening the family economy.
"Lower prices, stop the MBG, lower prices, stop the MBG", shouted a woman through a megaphone.
Intercepted by police
However, the protesters efforts to reach the State Palace did not go smoothly. After only 15 minutes of marching through the Sudirman area towards Thamrin, the steps of dozens of women were forced to a halt after being blocked by police barricades right next to the Thamrin Nine building.
The authorities that had setup up the blockade asked the crowd not to continue their march for the sake of maintaining traffic order.
Even though there were tough negotiations, the crowd remained at the location while continuing to sound their cooking utensils as a form of protest against the obstruction.
The women even sat down on the asphalt of Jalan Sudirman which was beginning to get hot because the sun was starting to smart.
As of this article being published, the dozens of action participants were still holding their ground in the Thamrin Nine area under the close guard of the authorities.
They declared that they would continue to voice their aspirations until there was a real response from the government regarding the demands they put forward.
Demos in Jakarta today
Student groups will also return to the streets of Jakarta on Thursday. It is recorded that three demonstrations are planned to take place in the Central Jakarta area through the day.
The police also prepared massive security. A total of 3,379 joint personnel were deployed to ensure the situation remained conducive during the series of actions.
The first action will be held in the Sultan Hotel area near the Bung Karno Sports Stadium Complex (GBK) in Central Jakarta starting at 9 am.
Following this, a second action will be held by a group of protesters from the Tridharma Indonesia Legal Aid Institute involving students from the National Development University (UPN), the Jakarta State University (UNJ), the Pamulang University and the Atmajaya University.
The demonstration will be cantered on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta and start at 10am.
Meanwhile, the third action is scheduled to take place at the Simpang Lima Senen Traffic Post at 1 pm, which will be held by protesters from the Jakarta Marginal Student Alliance (Aliansi Mahasiswa Jakarta Pinggiran).
The recent student actions in June began with a large demonstration by the All Indonesia Student Executive Council (BEM SI) and the University of Indonesia (UI) BEM on June 12 at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle in Central Jakarta.
The thousands of students demanded a reduction in the price of fuel and basic necessities, an end to the MBG program and criticised the militarisation of civilian space.
The wave of actions continued through June 15-17 with the consolidation of various campuses and student alliances in Jakarta and other areas.
[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Momen Emak-Emak Berdaster Bawa Panci Diadang Polisi, Hendak Demo ke Istana Negara".]
