Maros – Around 300 workers from the Indonesian National Front For Labor Struggle (Front Nasional Perjuangan Buruh Indonesia, FNPBI) clashed with Mobil Brigade (Brimob) troops in the area of the Hasanuddin airport in the Moros regency of South Sulawasi on Monday. The class occurred at 2.20pm at the same time as President Megawati Sukarnoputri was in transit at the VIP Galaktika lounge of the Hasanuddin airport. During the clash warning shots and tear gas were fired by security forces.
The FNPBI demonstrators began the action at the regional People's Representative Assembly. Failing to meet any parliamentarians the demonstrators took the demonstration to the offices of the South Sulawasi governor. There they demanded the government withdraw [Labour] Law Number 25/1997 and that all companies increase workers' wages by 100 per cent.
At 1pm they intercepted four trucks at the end of the Reformasi toll road. The workers, who carried FNPBI flags and red banners, asked the truck drivers to take them to the Hasanuddin airport. They had information that Megawati was in transit before continuing her journey to Manado. However at the airport their demands changed calling on Megawati and Vice-president Hamzah Haz to resign from their respective offices on the grounds that they had ignored the plight of workers.
The four trucks carrying the demonstrations, the majority of which were women, were able to enter the gates to the airport. However security forces, who were equipped with shields and clubs blocked the demonstrators who were heading for the VIP lounge where Megawati was in transit. The demonstrators and security forces began to push and shove each other. When negotiations stalled and demonstrators surged forward, the security forces fired warning shots and two tear gas grenades to disperse them. A number of workers suffered minor injures after being struck by clubs. However in the end the demonstrators retreated while the security forces who had been reinforced by two platoons were strengthened by yet another platoon.
The Maros regional police chief Ajun Komisaris Besar Syamsudin Yunus who was at the scene when the clash occurred explained that the police had tolerated the demonstrators entering the area of the Hasanuddin airport which is forbidden without permission. "[But] They should have only demonstrated 500 metres from the entrance. That is already in the area of the airport", he said. (pep)
[Translated by James Balowski]