Indonesian mayor shuts brothel area

SURABAYA, Indonesia — Authorities ceremoniously shut a prostitution complex in Indonesia’s second-largest city Wednesday as prostitutes protested, saying their livelihoods were being destroyed.

The mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, announced the closure of the “Dolly” prostitution complex in a ceremony at the city’s Islamic Center Building, about a mile 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. About 1,000 Muslims rallied at the Islamic Center to express their support.

Meanwhile, hundreds of prostitutes and others who said their livelihoods depend on the sex trade blocked the streets leading to the Dolly complex in protest of its closure.

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