A Disorderly Restoration of Order
The eviction of street vendors in Surabaya killed an infant. Regional leaders need to learn from Solo’s example in humane evictions.
May 26, 2009
SITI Khoiyaroh, the 4-year-old infant, could not have known why her mother, Sumariyah, was banned from selling bakso (meatballs) soup. After all, Sumariyah did not deal in substances like narcotics. But Sumariyah recalls vividly that the municipal police officers came and evicted street vendors like herself because they were told to restore order. The eviction order came from the mayor himself, claiming to act in line with regulations, because J
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