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More than public space, Car Free Day serves as arena to voice political dissent
Car Free Day is used not only to exercise or stroll the streets but as a stage for civil society organizations to voice their concerns over current issues.
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People eat meals sold by street vendors on Car Free Day in Central Jakarta on May 5, 2019. (Antara/Aprilio Akbar)
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or many Jakartans, the weekly Car Free Day (CFD) is the highlight of the weekend. For five hours from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Sunday, pedestrians claim the capital's main thoroughfares as their own. While private vehicles reign supreme on weekdays, people can roam the streets freely on Sunday mornings.
Launched in 2002 to promote cleaner air and restrict the use of private vehicles, the CFD has offered room for many activities amid limited public space. However, the event is used not only to exercise or stroll the streets but as a stage for civil society organizations to voice their concerns over current issues.
For instance, the Community Alliance for Democratic Justice on Sept. 15 held a protest against the revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) and demanded that the House of Representatives not pass the bill as it contained many problematic articles.
The alliance has held various political events in the past few weeks. It members earlier gathered during CFD on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin to demand that lawmakers pass the sexual violence eradication bill.
The alliance is a group of community organizations that include environmental and cultural activist associations, legal aid institutes, paralegal communities, journalist unions, labor unions, worker advocacy networks, student executive bodies and others.
Purplecode Collective activist Lini Zurlia said the KUHP bill contained articles that were against the principles of democracy and violated human rights and people needed to be aware that it could lead to discrimination.
“We chose the CFD because we know that lots of people spend time with family there. We wanted to take advantage of the situation to get more public participation, besides campaigning on social media and campus discussions,” Lini told The Jakarta Post.
