Ronna Nirmala, Zaky Pawas & Arientha Primanita – They may have fought bigger battles when they were in uniform helping Indonesia gain independence from the Dutch or battle domestic insurgencies, but a group of veterans are no less impassioned about their current struggle: trying to force Jakarta to reopen an entrance into a South Jakarta shopping mall they control that was closed months ago in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

This time the aged veterans have taken to the barricades in a different way, sporadically removing the barriers put up last September to prevent motorists from turning left into Plaza Semanggi from Jl. Gatot Sabroto. City officials said the left turn into the mall, which was also a popular shortcut for those heading north toward Jl Casablanca, made traffic worse.

But the veterans, who earn money from the rental of the land and its buildings by the Lippo Group's shopping mall division, say the traffic diversion is cutting into mall revenues so severely that their income is threatened. Mall shopkeepers say their business has fallen by as much as 60 percent since traffic was rerouted.

So this past week the old warriors fought back by removing the traffic barriers at least twice and liberating the traffic.

Shoppers and nearby residents were delighted since the traffic diversion has added as much as an hour's travel time at peak hours for those needing to access Palaza Semanggi or the roads behind it from South Jakarta.

The battle began in earnest on Wednesday when a group of veterans in full dress uniform held a protest in front of the barriers blocking the entrance, and later removed some of them, reopening access from the west.

The next day, the Jakarta Transportation Office, with police support, put the barriers back in place, but by Friday a small breach had been reopened.

"Its open! It's open!" cried one expat, ordering his driver on Friday afternoon to quickly make the once-familiar turn. By Saturday morning, the barricades were back and the veterans were nowhere to be seen.

H. M. Aziz M., a spokesman for the Indonesian Legion of Veterans (LVRI), said that having gone to war over the barriers they were not afraid of legal reprisals.

Aziz said the organization, which was granted rights to the land by the government in the 1960s, received a steady income from the property, and the closure of the southern entrance had resulted in an earnings decline for both the operator and the Legion of Veterans.

"We allowed Plaza Semanggi to be built here to help our revenue," Azis said. Rais Abin, president of the Asean Organization of Veterans, claimed that Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo had been informed of the dispute and had responded by saying the matter was in the hands of the city's transportation office.

"We have twice had discussions with [the transportation office], but there has been no follow-up," he said.

Both Aziz and Rais said they were willing to sign an amicable peace treaty, but they want the city to respect their status and they are not backing down.

"Let's have a discussion like between father and son," Rais said. "We don't ask to be pitied, we only ask to be respected. If you can live free now, it is because of our efforts in the past."

Sr. Comr. Royke Lumowa, Jakarta Police traffic director, said removing the concrete barriers was against the law. "We will reprimand them," he said.

Udar Pristono, head of the transportation office, said the veterans' action violated a 2003 regulation on traffic. He told the Jakarta Globe, which is affiliated with the Lippo Group, that the regulation calls for up to three months in prison or fines of up to Rp 5 million ($585) for illegally removing road separators.

He said the street in front of Plaza Semanggi was city-owned, giving the city the right to install the barriers.

[A. Lin Neumann contributed reporting to this story.]