People's Movement Holds Rally to Protest Fuel Price Hikes

Jakarta (Antara) -- Hundreds of laborers, university students and fishermen, who call themselves the People's Movement, held a rally in front of the State Palace to protest against fuel oil price hikes. "Energy is a (basic) need of the people. We are here to fight for it," a coordinator of the rally, Bonay, said here on Wednesday. He added that the government's decision to increase subsidized fuel oil prices was a wrong step because it could lead people further away from prosperity. "The fuel oil price hikes have wide-ranging impacts, from making the prices of essential goods soar to causing hikes in transportation fares," Bonay argued. The demonstrator further noted that the government did not have a clear basis to raise subsidized fuel prices. "The government hiked fuel prices when the cost of the world's crude is on the decline. This is illogical," he remarked. (*)