Jakarta’s Kalijodo, long home to thousands of sex workers, is the latest of nearly 70 red-light districts shut down in Indonesia. The government wants to close the remaining around 100 more by 2019.
Prostitution is illegal in Indonesia but rampant in most major cities.
Under high security, bulldozers were seen destroying dozens of homes and sex-oriented businesses in the Jakarta neighbourhood, which the governor wants to turn into a park.
“First, we need to demolish all houses and revert the land to be used for a green open space, which has been the main function of the area since the very beginning. Once it is all completed, we will rebuild the area immediately,” Anas Effendi, West Jakarta Mayor, told reporters.
An accident by a drunk motorist that killed four in Kalijodo earlier this month prompted Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to order the closing of the neighbourhood.
