Residents Of Suramadu Blocking Demo "Madura No Corona, Only Markona", This Is Eri Cahyadi's Response

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SURABAYA - Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi met hundreds of Madurese who held a demonstration against blocking the Suramadu Bridge in front of the Surabaya City Hall yard, East Java.

"I'm just carrying out my duties. The partition is not a municipal government policy, but a request for letters from the East Java Provincial Government and Bangkalan Regency Government," said Eri Cahyadi when meeting protesters at City Hall, quoted by Antara, Monday, June 21.

Some of the crowds were crammed together and did not wear masks, but others continued to apply health protocols by wearing masks and keeping their distance.

They unfurled protest posters that read "The Mayor of Surabaya must apologize to the Madurese", "stop discriminatory partitions", "In Madura there is no corona, only markona" and other writings.

Before Mayor Eri met with the masses, there was a tug of war, where the Surabaya COVID-19 Task Force asked representatives of 20 Madurese to enter Surabaya City Hall, while the demonstrators refused the request.

The crowd urged Mayor Eri Cahyadi to come out of his office to meet them directly in front of the Surabaya City Hall courtyard.

"We asked Pak Eri to meet us here. We asked for the partition to be stopped," said one participant in the Nasikin protest.

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of the Surabaya COVID-19 Task Force, Irvan Widyanto, said Mayor Eri was ready to meet protesters as long as there were only 20 representatives.

"Representatives of 20 people please come in. We still ask to keep your distance, don't crowd. Remember the corona virus is still there," he said.

Finding this, the demonstrators rejected the request of the Surabaya COVID-19 Task Force and asked Eri Cahyadi to meet him. The crowd threw used drink bottles at security officers.

After some time, Mayor Eri agreed to meet the protesters. Eri said the aspirations of the protesters would be conveyed to the authorities, namely the East Java COVID-19 Task Force.

"Surabaya stands for Bangkalan. So it's not Surabaya that does the insulation. We are only helping," he said.