Jakarta – Hundreds of Barito market vendors distributed roses to passing motorists Friday in a subtle protest against their relocation to Radio Dalam.

Wearing black T-shirts and headbands, the vendors blockaded Jl. Melawai in South Jakarta, which leads to Blok M. As a result, traffic had to be rerouted to Jl. Barito Raya.

"We don't want to be relocated to Radio Dalam on Jan. 20 because the area is not strategic and is much smaller than Barito. It will kill our businesses," head of the Barito vendors association Tedi Pandji said Friday.

One of the vendors, Soleh, said the stalls in Radio Dalam were much smaller than their current 4x12.5 meter stalls in Barito.

As part of their protest, the vendors held up signs reading, "Should relocation create unemployment?" and "We will be relocated to a secluded area with 2x2 meter stalls. We'll die eventually".

Established 37 years ago, Barito market was once a city park. As more and more vendors arrived to start selling fish and flowers, the park slowly turned into a market.

The city administration plans to relocate the market's vendors so as the area can once again become a park. The construction of the park was planned by former governor Sutiyoso three years ago. – Detik.com