City evicts vendors in run-up to election<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Ahead of the campaign period for the July 5 presidential
\nelection, the Jakarta administration has begun a month-long
\ncampaign of its own to evict street vendors.<\/p>\n
\"The evictions are routine. Since we will have the
\npresidential election campaign (beginning on June 1), we are
\ncarrying out selective evictions on small numbers of targets,\"
\nsaid Jakarta Public Order Office head Soebagio over the weekend.<\/p>\n
He added that about 4,000 public order officers would be
\ndeployed to help the police provide security in the capital
\nduring the campaign itself.<\/p>\n
The agency will be targeting vendors operating in busy areas
\nin the capital, including the main thoroughfare of Jl. Sudirman
\nand the Sabang and Cikini areas of Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Soebagio said his officers would not be rousting larger
\ncommunities of squatters and vendors, like the squatters living
\nbeneath the Rawa Bebek overpass in North Jakarta or near the
\nOtorita Batam office in Cawang, East Jakarta, because he wanted
\nto avoid clashes.<\/p>\n
A string of forcible evictions last year by the Public Order
\nOffice left more than 5,000 families homeless.<\/p>\n
A chicken porridge vendor near the Dharmala Sakti building on
\nJl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, Ibu Menik, recalled how she had
\nto hurry her customers along last Friday morning, less than an
\nhour after she opened, when dozens of public order officers
\npulled up near her cart.<\/p>\n
She said she always had to be on the alert to avoid the
\nofficers swooping down on her and seizing her cart.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know why the public order officers have begun
\nsweeping for street vendors again,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Ibu Menik is luckier than street vendors operating in front of
\nthe Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Cikini, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"About 500 public order officers arrived in 40 pickup trucks
\nlast Monday. They took away my cigarette cart along with all the
\ngoods inside,\" said vendor Gondrong, 30.<\/p>\n
About 200 vendors lost their kiosks and goods in the
\noperation.<\/p>\n
\"If there were fewer than 100 officers, we could have fought
\nthem. But we had to obey them because we were outnumbered,\"
\nGondrong said, adding that several officers returned the next day
\nto confiscate those items they had missed the previous day.<\/p>\n
Gondrong and dozens of other vendors staged a rally in front
\nof the City Council several days later, demanding the officers
\nreturn their belongings.<\/p>\n
\"There was no prior notice about the raid even though each of
\nthe vendors pays a minimum of Rp 17,000 a month as a 'security
\nfee' to Cikini subdistrict officials,\" one of the protesters
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum, Azas Tigor
\nNainggolan, called on the administration to stop the evictions.<\/p>\n
\"I suspect that (Governor) Sutiyoso's administration is
\nintentionally creating bad conditions in the city in order to
\nundermine the people's support for the current (central)
\ngovernment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He alleged the evictions were related to efforts by Sutiyoso,
\na retired Army general, to increase support for his former Army
\ncolleagues in the upcoming presidential election. Three retired
\nArmy generals will take part in the presidential election.<\/p>\n
\"Please, remain neutral. The administration should not
\nintervene in the political process. Instead, the administration
\nmust ensure that all residents can cast their votes,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/city-evicts-vendors-in-run-up-to-election-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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