Authorities force squatters from Benhil area<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of workers and members of the civil
\ndefense corps, backed by military and police officers, demolished
\nhouses at the Bendungan Hilir fire site, Central Jakarta, after
\nnegotiations over land compensation collapsed.<\/p>\n
The officers, equipped with rattan sticks, riot shields, tear
\ngas and automatic riffles, were on alert in areas surrounding the
\nfire site when workers and members of the civil defense corps
\ndemolished the houses.<\/p>\n
Police also blocked roads to and from the area, causing heavy
\ntraffic jams on other main streets as far as Jl. Sudirman, Jl.
\nM.H. Thamrin and the Semanggi cloverleaf, all in Central Jakarta.
\nThe congestion lasted until 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"Hundreds of officers came to the location early in the
\nmorning and threw teargas at the residents,\" Prasman, the chief
\nof the RT 04 community unit, said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Prasman and Muhammad Zen, another area resident, said some of
\nthe residents initially tried to prevent the demolition by
\nthrowing stones at the workers and officers, but they left the
\narea when the officers released teargas.<\/p>\n
Antara quoted a police officer as saying that police had to
\nuse teargas in order to control the residents, who scuffled with
\npolice and military officers on Tuesday when they tried to
\ndemolish the houses.<\/p>\n
\"This is total brutality,\" cried 24-year-old Mrs. Zubaidah,
\nanother area resident, shedding tears as she transported her
\nbelongings to a safer place.<\/p>\n
Zubaidah said that most of the residents, who were categorized
\nby the government as squatters, were still preparing for the
\nmorning prayer or were sleeping at 4:30 a.m. when the workers
\nbegan to pull down the walls, shatter windows and expel the
\noccupants from their dwellings.<\/p>\n
Some of the children, awakened by the noise, cried and called
\nout for their parents, who were hastily moving sofas, mattresses,
\ncupboards, electronic goods and documents from their homes.<\/p>\n
The city administration has repeatedly warned the area
\nresidents not to rebuild houses in the 1.5-hectare area, which
\nwas ravaged by fire on Sept. 9, on the grounds that it will be
\nused for the development of low-cost apartments for them.<\/p>\n
The city administration has agreed to provide a Rp 400,000
\n(US$190) allowance per family to help the residents to rent
\ntemporary housing pending the completion of the apartments.<\/p>\n
The squatters, however, opposed the government plan to build
\napartments and refused the amount offered in compensation for
\ntheir homes, asking instead that the amount be increased from Rp
\n235,000 to Rp 1 million per square meter.<\/p>\n
Sutaryo, the squatter's leader, has said that the residents
\nprefer to use the compensation to buy other houses in Jakarta
\nsuburbs or to move to the provinces.<\/p>\n
Infants<\/p>\n
Mohammad Zen said yesterday that two infants were treated in a
\npublic hospital for respiratory problems allegedly caused by
\ninhaling teargas.<\/p>\n
Capt. Syaiful, the chief of the Operation Unit of the On the
\nAlert City Police Squad told The Jakarta Post that one of the
\npolice officers, who was identified as First Sergeant Muchlis,
\nwas also injured.<\/p>\n
\"He was hit by stones thrown by unidentified people at the
\nsite and had at least three stitches to his head,\" Syaiful said.<\/p>\n
In protest of the demolition, around 150 of the area
\nresidents, mostly housewives, teenagers and children, marched to
\nthe House of Representatives (DPR) in the Senayan area yesterday,
\nwaving national flags and banging on expensive cars they
\nencountered on the way.<\/p>\n
\"Our houses were demolished, our houses were demolished,\"
\ncried the protesters.<\/p>\n
Four representatives of the residents were received by
\nlegislator Syamsul Mu'arif from the Golkar faction.<\/p>\n
The residents demanded that the House condemn the demolition,
\nsaying that the government could pay the Rp 1 million per meter
\ncompensation they are requesting.<\/p>\n
Syamsul promised that Golkar would pass on their complaints to
\nthe city administration, which is handling the case.<\/p>\n
Police said that more than 10 squatters had been questioned in
\nconnection with the demolition problems. (09\/bsr\/yns\/has)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/authorities-force-squatters-from-benhil-area-1447893297",
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