Jakarta – A "King of Java" theatrical action held by a civil society alliance in Jakarta was marred by chaos after a number of unknown individuals blocked them in the Jalan Jenderal Sudirman area of Central Jakarta on Monday September 27.
The civil society alliance initially held a long-march from Menteng Park to the Dukuh Atas area under tight security by police. However, when they were on Jalan Jendral Sudirman and about to turn towards the Dukuh Atas Skatepark area, they were suddenly blocked by a group of unknown people.
The unknown people blocking the march could be seen trying to seize the action materials from the protesters. They were also involved in an argument which ended in chaos. "Disperse, disperse", shouted the crowd of unknown people blocking the protesters.
"They were watching us from the side of the road. Now, when we reached the intersection they quickly and suddenly ran in to grab the campaign materials. They also kicked us", said one of action participants, Arhan.
This protest action was held to criticise various socio-political incidents that have occurred in recent months.
In the action invitation, the protesters were said they would hold a "King of Java" parade – a term generally taken as referring to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo – and read out the "7 deadly sins" committed by the regime that is considered to have worsened the state of democracy and environmental sustainability.
The protesters said that the King of Java parade was a symbol of judgment and to accommodate the accumulation of public anger. (rzr/wis)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aksi Teatrikal 'Raja Jawa' di Dukuh Atas Ricuh, Alat Peraga Dirampas".]
