Eviction keeps fishermen ashore<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Hundreds of fishermen who live along the banks of the Muara Angke
\nRiver in North Jakarta did not go out to sea on Tuesday, instead
\nstaying at home to wait for the public order officers to come and
\ntry to demolish their houses.<\/p>\n
Tuesday was the deadline for the fishermen to vacate their
\nmakeshift houses along the river, but the anticipated public
\norder officers never arrived and there was no word if the
\ndeadline had been extended.<\/p>\n
\"We all decided not to go to sea today. We were worried the
\npublic order officers would come demolish our houses while we
\nwere away,\" said Cemplon, who is in his 40s and has lived along
\nthe river for about 20 years.<\/p>\n
\"If the officers forced us to leave, we were afraid our
\nchildren would fall into the river in a panic,\" Cemplon said.<\/p>\n
About 750 families grouped in the Traditional Fishermen Union
\nwere seen hanging around their platform houses by the river on
\nTuesday, restlessly waiting for the worse to come.<\/p>\n
The fishermen, most of whom have lived in the area for more
\nthan 20 years, have said they will not move because they have
\nnowhere else to go.<\/p>\n
The residents refused the municipality's offer of Rp 1 million
\n(US$119) in compensation to vacate their homes.<\/p>\n
Blaming the residents for destroying the city's green belt,
\nNorth Jakarta Mayor Effendi Anas issued a final eviction notice
\non Saturday, which stated that the residents had 72 hours to tear
\ndown their houses.<\/p>\n
However, the fishermen are not the only one's occupying this
\nformer green area. There also are several apartment buildings,
\nmiddle to upper-class housing complexes and office buildings.<\/p>\n
The administration has revealed a plan to clear slum areas
\nthroughout the city, saying it is part of the effort to maintain
\npublic order.<\/p>\n
Human rights and urban activists have criticized a recent
\nstring of evictions of poor people, which they say violated the
\npeople's basic right for shelter.<\/p>\n
Next on the eviction list are about 250 houses that stand on a
\na graveyard in Tegal Alur, West Jakarta. Mayor Sarimun
\nHadisaputra said public order officers would clear the land on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
The residents have packed up their belongings but are still
\nrefusing to vacate their houses.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eviction-keeps-fishermen-ashore-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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