REPUBLIKA CO.ID., JAKARTA - The draft of government regulation on tobacco (dubbed as RPP Tembakau -Ed) still draws some protest. This time, the tobacco farmers united in the National Coalition of Clove Cigarette Saviors and Tobacco Farmers Alliance (APTI) rallied outside the office of Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
The farmers, coming from cities in Central Java such as Wonosobo, Boyolali, Temanggung, and Kendal, rejected the signing of the bill as they feared it could ruin the life of tobacco farmers. A tobacco farmer from Tangerang, Salimah (41 years), claimed that farmers from Bali also joined the protest and she hoped government would listen to their aspirations.
"Our life depends on cigarette," she said.
The protest caused long traffic jam in Jl Rasuna Said, Kuningan, South Jakarta. The event forced the police to shut all access to Kuningan-Setiabudi. The protestors then marched to the office of Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
Earlier, government plans to sign the tobacco bill into law on July 14, 2012. The Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Agung Laksono, rejected the idea that the bill could inflict a financial loss to the farmers.
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