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SPARTAN calls for ‘neoliberal’ candidates to be disqualified

Detik.com - July 1, 2009

A hundred or so people from the Volunteers of People’s Struggle for the Liberation of Motherland (SPARTAN) demonstrated at the General Election Commission (KPU) offices in Central Jakarta on Wednesday July 1. They were demanding that the KPU disqualify neoliberal presidential and vice presidential candidates.

The action created traffic congestion on Jl. Imam Bonjol in the direction the Hotel Indonesia roundabout because the demonstrators used one shoulder of the road. Traffic in the other direction however was not disrupted and the KPU was closely guarded by scores of police officers.

As they demonstrated, SPARTAN members shouted protests such as “SBY [incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] is a neoliberal, Boediono [Yudhoyono’s running mate] is a neoliberal, all of them are neoliberal! The debt accumulates every year, come on, let’s reject the neoliberal presidential and vice presidential candidates!”.

In addition to giving speeches, they also brought banners with messages such as “Reject neoliberal the presidential and vice presidential candidates” and “Big debts, why do they claim not to be neoliberal”. Posters with caricatures of Yudhoyono and Boediono were also brought by protesters.

“[We are] calling on the KPU to disqualify neoliberal presidential and vice presidential candidates,” said SPARTAN spokesperson Agus Priyono from atop a truck.

Housewives reject SBY-Boediono

Around two hundred housewives also demonstrated against SBY-Boediono in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Wednesday saying that they are lackeys of foreign capital and neoliberalism, and that their development programs have failed to side with the poor.

The demonstration by a group calling itself SPARTAN was held on the grounds of the South Sulawesi regional KPU offices.

“That SBY-Boediono are neoliberal lackeys is already clear with the high cost of education and healthcare. Their policies provide opportunities to foreign capitalists to reap profits from Indonesia’s natural wealth and blur the people’s eyes with BLT [direct case assistance program] and KUR [credit for small and medium enterprises]”, said Daeng Baji, one of the action coordinators in a speech.

The demonstrators also said up until now Boediono’s policies have not sided with the poor, both when he the coordinating minister for the economy as well as when he was the governor of the central bank.

As well has holding speeches, the demonstrators also brought black coloured banners with messages written in white such as “Reject neoliberalism”, “Abolish the foreign debt” and “Form a National Coalition Government”.

According to Detik’s observations, not a few of the protests brought children with them, and not all of them appeared to be listening seriously to the political speeches being given. A number even elected instead to seek shade on the side of the road because of the intense heat.

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski from two reports carried by Detik.com on July 1.]

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