Perumka evicts squatters in Tanah Abang<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Squatters along the Tanah Abang railway track
\ngave up their shanties yesterday to a demolition team backed by
\n80 military troops.<\/p>\n
Unlike on previous occasions, the 50 huts along the tracks
\nwere demolished without protests or tears.<\/p>\n
The demolition team, made up of officials from the Tanah Abang
\ndistrict and the state-owned railway company Perumka, asked the
\nmilitary to back them up in case of resistance.<\/p>\n
We informed them beforehand, said one Perumka official. As a
\nresult, he said, the squatter families said they would not resist
\nthe demolition, though many were reluctant to pull down their
\nhuts in the hope that the demolition team would not arrive.<\/p>\n
With the squatters on the sidelines and the military close at
\nhand, the demolition team got busy burning the residents' huts
\nand dragging their belongings.<\/p>\n
However, Capt. SN Harahap, commander of the military troops,
\ngave the 100 or so squatters a chance to save their wooden beds,
\nboards, chicken coops, benches and even fences.<\/p>\n
Nearby, neighboring families living in kampongs behind the
\nsquatter area just watched the demolition while chatting with the
\nmilitary officers.<\/p>\n
Neneng, a 25-year-old squatter, told The Jakarta Post that she
\nwas used to experiencing demolitions. \"Perumka has demolished my
\nkiosk around ten times,\" she said with a gloomy face. \"I don't
\nknow if I can build it again. It depends on my husband.\"<\/p>\n
\"We have lived here for years,\" the mother of three children
\nsaid. \"If they ask us to move away, where will we live?\"<\/p>\n
Another woman said she was lucky that she had moved several
\nmonths ago.<\/p>\n
Capt. Harahap told the Post that the sub-district
\nadministration had formally given the people advanced warning.<\/p>\n
\"We just destroyed and burnt the huts owned by the stubborn
\npeople,\" he added.<\/p>\n
A Perumka official denied claims that the land was being
\ncleaned up for an upcoming train visit by the Central Jakarta
\nMayor.<\/p>\n
\"To make sure that there would by no more slum areas along the
\ntracks we demolished the huts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to the official, the mayor will travel from Gambir
\nto Tanah Abang and Manggarai.<\/p>\n
Djinandir, another Perumka official, said he believed that the
\nsquatters would soon rebuild their huts.<\/p>\n
\"To prevent them from doing so, we will ask several staff
\nmembers to watch over them,\" he added. (05)<\/p>",
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