Rorotan farmers bring eviction case to House<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Holding an Indonesian flag aloft, a group of
\nfarming families from Rorotan, North Jakarta, gathered at the
\nHouse of Representatives yesterday to protest against their
\nforceful eviction from land which they have been cultivating
\nsince the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
Representatives of the group, which was accompanied by Cathy
\nLengkong, the leader of the Indonesian Scavengers Association,
\nsaid that their houses had been burnt down by developer PT Green
\nGarden and that they had been intimidated by thugs hired by the
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
The farmers were received by the ruling Golkar faction in the
\nHouse of Representatives.<\/p>\n
The House members, led by the Golkar faction's Vice Chairman
\nfor Political Affairs and Security Ali Mursalam, condemned the
\nalleged intimidation and the destruction of homes as violations
\nof the protesters' human rights. The faction promised to convey
\nthe protesters' complaints to the city administration and the
\ndeveloper, the Antara news agency reported.<\/p>\n
The dispute between developer PT Green Garden and farmers in
\nthe Rorotan subdistrict began when the farmers vowed to remain on
\nfour hectares of land which the developer insisted belonged to
\nit. It appears to be common ground in the dispute that the
\nfarmers have occupied the land since the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
"We'll have them (the farmers) out of the site because it's
\nour land. We have the legal documents," Hengky, president of PT
\nGreen Garden, told the Jakarta Post last week.<\/p>\n
According to Hengky, his company obtained the title to the
\n43,000 square-meter plot of land from the Jakarta city
\nadministration in the early 1980s to build a housing complex to
\nbe called Kompleks Green Garden.<\/p>\n
Hengky claimed that the company brought 19 farming families
\nfrom Indramayu, West Java, in the early 1980s to till the land
\nand guard it until the construction project could begin.<\/p>\n
According to Hengky, 17 of the 19 families involved left the
\narea after he gave them Rp 50,000 (US$22) each and free
\ntransportation to their home town. (01)<\/p>",
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