Fishermen families evicted for fourth time<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
At least 25 families of 50 evicted fishermen in Ancol Timur
\nsurvived on their boats on Sunday after the North Jakarta
\nmunicipality demolished their houses a day earlier.<\/p>\n
\"We will discuss the possibility that the evictees receive
\npriority in getting some of the low-cost apartments that are
\nbeing developed by the city administration,\" Hermawanto of
\nJakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), the lawyer of the
\nevicted fishermen, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Saturday, for the fourth time in seven years, about
\n50 fishermen and their families, some 160 people, were evicted by
\nthe city public order officers from their makeshift homes in
\nAncol Timur on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n
During the eviction, the only land access to the site was
\nblocked by heavily armed military troops along with officers from
\nthe public order agency.<\/p>\n
The only way to reach the site was by boat, ironically, from
\nnearby Ancol Dreamland Park.<\/p>\n
When LBH Jakarta activists arrived at the site, all their
\nplywood and fiberglass houses had been burned down by the
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
Hermawanto said that the fishermen were distraught, as they
\nhad nowhere to stay.<\/p>\n
Most took their families to stay on their boats while, as of
\nSunday, access to the land was blocked by a group of unidentified
\nmen.<\/p>\n
Some of them were decided to stay temporarily at the LBH
\nJakarta office on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
According to Hermawanto, the fishermen -- who originally are
\nfrom Cirebon and Indramayu in West Java -- had been living in
\nAncol Timur for nearly 30 years.<\/p>\n
Saturday's eviction was the fourth for them. They were first
\nevicted in 1997 as the land they had occupied was to be used for
\nthe north coast reclamation project. After moving to another site
\nin the area, they were evicted for a second time in 1999 for the
\nsame reason. In 2001, they were also evicted, although they had
\nmoved to another site.<\/p>\n
The administration has been planning since 1995 to reclaim the
\nnorth coast and build a plush housing and business area.<\/p>\n
The fishermen's class action suit against the administration
\nwas rejected by the Jakarta State Administrative Court and the
\nJakarta High Court since filing the class action suit in 1993.
\nThey appealed to the Supreme Court but there has been no
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
Head of the North Jakarta public order office Toni Budiono
\ncould not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
The LBH Jakarta questioned the administration's persistence in
\ngoing ahead with its reclamation plan of 2,500 hectares of the
\nnorthern coast although there are legal question marks.<\/p>\n
The office of the State Minister of the Environment has
\nrejected the reclamation plan, fearing serious environmental
\ndamage. The minister's office lost its legal battle but they
\nfiled an appeal and the case is currently at the Jakarta High
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
LBH Jakarta activists also said that the fishermen were not
\nrecognized by the country as they were not registered to vote in
\nlast week's legislative election -- effectively disenfranchising
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Separately in West Jakarta, 38 evicted residents of Tanjung
\nDuren Selatan, West Jakarta, who had recently sought shelter at
\nthe National Commission on Human Rights office, were arrested by
\nthe police for destroying private property.<\/p>\n
About 300 people evicted from the land on Oct. 2, 2003, tore
\ndown the wall surrounding the land close to Taman Anggrek Mall at
\nabout 3 a.m. on Friday, in an attempt to reoccupy the land.<\/p>",
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