Residents of Dolly red-light district man a road block in protest against the closing of the prostitution complex in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, June 18, 2014.
Surabaya:
Officials have officially shut a massive prostitution complex in Indonesia's second-largest city amid protests by sex workers, who said their livelihoods were being destroyed.
The mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, announced the closure of the "Dolly" prostitution complex in a ceremony on Wednesday at the city's Islamic Center Building, about a mile (two kilometres) away.
A Cabinet minister and the governor of East Java attended the ceremony, where about 100 local figures signed a statement supporting the closure of one of Southeast Asia's largest red-light districts.
The government plans to provide $425 to each of about 1,500 sex workers to help them start a new life.
Hundreds of prostitutes and others who said their livelihoods depend on the sex trade blocked streets leading to the complex in protest of its closure.
The mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, announced the closure of the "Dolly" prostitution complex in a ceremony on Wednesday at the city's Islamic Center Building, about a mile (two kilometres) away.
A Cabinet minister and the governor of East Java attended the ceremony, where about 100 local figures signed a statement supporting the closure of one of Southeast Asia's largest red-light districts.
The government plans to provide $425 to each of about 1,500 sex workers to help them start a new life.
Hundreds of prostitutes and others who said their livelihoods depend on the sex trade blocked streets leading to the complex in protest of its closure.
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