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urakarta Deputy Mayor F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo has promised to facilitate a meeting of around 600 sex workers in the city at his official residence. The fate of the sex workers would become the main topic of discussion in the upcoming meeting.

The meeting will be a follow up of a seminar commemorating Human Rights Day which was attended by around 550 representatives from 11 marginalized communities in Surakarta in December last year.

Then, representatives for sex workers in Surakarta floated an idea to establish a red-light district in the city, similar to Gang Dolly in Surabaya, East Java.

“We will accommodate the meeting, but it would be a daunting task to establish a red-light district,” Hadi said. He added that establishing the location would certainly draw criticism as well as praise, and that many parties would be reluctant to back the plan.

“We cannot place our interest in this while sacrificing others,” he said.

During the seminar, Surakarta sex workers representative Sriyatun proposed the establishment of a red-light district in the city. He addressed the proposal to Hadi, who represented Mayor Joko Widodo.

According to Sriyatun, the sex district location would be a solution to provide protection for sex workers and a form of recognition of the presence of the sex workers as part of the community, especially in matters concerning health.

Based on her report, only 52 sex workers are officially registered in the city, but there are an estimated 600 sex workers operating in Surakarta.

The meeting is expected to be held in February, but the mayor and deputy mayor are still occupied with discussions on the development of the Kiat Esemka car, dubbed the national car.

The Kiat Esemka attracted the attention of the public after Joko Widodo and Rudy said that they wished to use the Indonesian-designed vehicle as their official transports.

At present, the two Esemka sports utility vehicles (SUV) lent by vocational school SMKN 2 Surakarta to Joko Widodo are undergoing engine tuning work at the Solo Techno Park in Surakarta for emission testing.

This kind of routine maintenance is needed to prevent anything unexpected during the emission testing in Jakarta. Two cars similar to the ones used by the Surakarta mayor and his deputy are to be tested in Jakarta.

“The moment the emission test on the Kiat Esemka car is completed, we will immediately schedule the meeting with sex workers and marginalized communities at the deputy mayor’s official residence,” Hadi said.

This year, the Surakarta municipality has invited 11 poor and marginalized communities to participate and provide input on the 2012 Development Plan Conference, namely hawkers, pedicab drivers, parking attendants, sidewalk vendors, sex workers, the disabled, beggars, scavengers, and street artists and singers.

“They are the targets of our development. By involving them immediately, we hope they will voice their aspirations to achieve the most appropriate solution,” said Surakarta Development Planning Agency head Anung Indro Susanto.

Public Institution Cleansing and Monitoring Consortium executive director Akbarudin Arif said other cities should emulate what was happening in Surakarta.

The municipality has deliberately involved the community to be involved directly in policy-making, which is expected to become a solution for the issues they are facing.

“Surakarta is the first city in Indonesia to provide room for the community to come face to face with their leaders,” Akbarudin said.