Krjogja.com
- June 16, 2010
Yogyakarta –
Activists from the Student Struggle Centre for National Liberation (Pembebasan,
formerly LMND-PRD) opposing planned increases to the basic electricity rate
(TDL) next July held an action in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on
Wednesday June 16.
Action
coordinator Arie Lamondjong said that although the TDL hike will not apply to
poor subscribers, this will of course have a systemic flow-on effect on the
Indonesian economy with the damaging effects from the increase influencing
other sectors.
“The sector
that will be most damaged by the policy to increase the TDL is the industrial
sector. This will of course increase the price of industrial products that will
culminate in increases to basic prices such as basic commodities and education
will become even more expensive”, Lamondjong asserted during a break in the
action.
In addition
to this, the protesters also condemned the regime of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono (SBY-Boediono) for being pro-imperialist.
This has been repeatedly demonstrated by government policies that are not
pro-people.
“Fuel
restrictions, TDL increases, the law on education legal entity and other
policies are evidence of policies that are not pro-people. Replace the
SBY-Boediono regime with a government of the poor”, added Lamondjong.
After
gathering at the Yogyakarta Monument the demonstrators then held a long march
towards the main post office in the center of the city. During the march, they
also stopped at the offices off the state-owned oil company Pertamina and the
North Yogyakarta state-owned electricity company PLN on Jl. P Mangkubumi, where
they set fire to tyres and gave speeches. (Dhi)
Notes
According to
Makassar TV (16/6/10), Pembebasan organised protest actions against the
planned electricity price hikes in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar where
they also called for free education and healthcare. Pos Kota Kaltim
(17/6/10) meanwhile reported that Pembebasan activists demonstrated in the East
Kalimantan city of Samarinda they criticised the PLN's poor services and set
fire to tyres.
[Translated
by James Balowski.]
