Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Thirty-four years after the Malari affair – short for The January 15 Disaster – a student actions opposing foreign capital, particularly Japanese capital on January 15, 2974, demands for the foreign debt to be written off are now being articulated again.

The action will be held by some 100 buskers, students and workers at the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta on Tuesday January 15. The protesters plan to gather at the Horse Statue in front of the Indosat building on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat at 10am, then move off towards the State Palace.

“We will be demanding that the government immediately write off the foreign debt and develop the national industry for the welfare of the people,” said the public relations officer for the action, Vivi Widyawati, when speaking with Detik.com.

According to Vivi however, there is no plan for the action to be continued at the Pertamina Central Hospital (RSPP) where former President Suharto was treated before his death last year. “Not yet. So far it will just be the Palace. But we’ll see how things develop on the ground”, she said. (ziz/sss)

Notes:

Malari Incident – The January 15 Disaster (Malapetaka 15 Januari) refers to student demonstrations and riots against corruption and the military in Jakarta during the 1974 visit by the Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka. More than 200 students were arrested and many jailed for long terms.

[Translated by James Balowski. There were no follow up reports by Detk.com on the action itself.]