Squatters at human rights body ask for public help<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): More than 100 Depok residents, who have been
\nsquatting on the grounds of the National Commission on Human
\nRights for more than two months, appealed yesterday for help from
\nthe public.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the squatters, Simbolon, the father of five
\nchildren, said, \"We need rice and clothes for our children.\"<\/p>\n
Simbolon said many children had become ill. Some had to be
\ntaken to a nearby community health center to get treatment for
\ndiarrhea, coughs and colds.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, little had changed at the site on Jl. Latuharhari,
\nCentral Jakarta, since the residents first moved in.<\/p>\n
Families sit in groups on the grounds, children sleep on mats
\nor play nearby, and women wash clothes in the only available
\nbathroom of the commission's building.<\/p>\n
A security guard who sits at the office reception counter has
\nbeen unable to resolve the situation.<\/p>\n
\"They've been staying here for two months,\" he said. \"It's
\nbeen a difficult time.\"<\/p>\n
But business seemed undisturbed by the squatters yesterday, as
\npeople from many parts of the country visited the commission's
\noffice to discuss their concerns with commission members.<\/p>\n
The squatters have been living at the compound since April 22
\nafter they were evicted from their homes in Pancoran Mas, Depok.<\/p>\n
On April 17, the Bogor regency and the Depok mayoralty
\nbulldozed 700 shanty houses built on 19 hectares of Ministry of
\nHealth land.<\/p>\n
The evicted people, who are mostly from North Sumatra, have
\nwritten about their plight to the Bogor regency, the Depok
\nmayoralty, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the President.<\/p>\n
But spokesman Simbolon said yesterday they had not received
\nany replies.<\/p>\n
He said the squatters would continue living on the
\ncommission's grounds until the government gives them some
\nattention.<\/p>\n
\"We will remain, whatever happens,\" Simbolon said.<\/p>\n
The commission, which fed the squatters for the first two
\nweeks, has asked them to leave on several occasions.<\/p>\n
The commission has said that it will not use force to make the
\nsquatters leave. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/squatters-at-human-rights-body-ask-for-public-help-1447893297",
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