West Jakarta to continue with forced evictions<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
West Jakarta municipality administration will continue with its
\nplans to clear some 700 houses on a plot of land next to Mal
\nTaman Anggrek on Jl. S. Parman, West Jakarta, on Thursday
\nmorning, although the residents affected claim they have not
\nreceived any prior official notification of this.<\/p>\n
The plan was revealed earlier this week, only days after the
\nadministration forcibly evicted thousands from their homes in
\nCengkareng, West Jakarta; a man eventually died after the clash
\nand a teenage girl, allegedly, was sexually abused.<\/p>\n
West Jakarta Mayor Sarimun Hadisaputra said on Wednesday that
\nthe eviction would commence at 8 a.m., involving some 4,000
\nsecurity officers from the city police and city public order
\nagency.<\/p>\n
He insisted the plan would continue as the decision had
\nalready been taken by West Jakarta District Court, saying that
\nthe squatters had no right to live there. The decision was also
\nconfirmed by the Jakarta High Court.<\/p>\n
The residents, who lived in permanent buildings on the land,
\nsaid that they had heard of such plans but had not received any
\nnotification letter about them from the administration.<\/p>\n
Nurhayati Sitanggang, one of the residents, told The Jakarta
\nPost that she had heard about the plan but thought it was only a
\nrumor.<\/p>\n
\"I've been hearing about the eviction for a week ... But the
\nsubdistrict head hasn't come here to inform us officially,\" she
\nsaid. \"I thought that an eviction like this must be notified in
\nadvance, through the proper channels.\"<\/p>\n
She said that she was aware of the plan from some men she
\nidentified as thugs and policemen.<\/p>\n
Violence has marked previous evictions; this time the mayor
\nhas received a death threat from unidentified people. The West
\nJakarta public order office head and head of the Jakarta legal
\nbureau have also received similar threats.<\/p>\n
However, Sarimun claimed that he would not be deterred by the
\nthreat and would continue with the eviction.<\/p>\n
The municipality plans to clear thousands of \"illegal\"
\ndwellings in some areas before the start of the Muslim fasting
\nmonth, which will fall in the last week of October.<\/p>\n
Residents will be paid compensation, but for Nurhayati the
\namount will not be enough as payment will be only Rp 3 million
\n(US$352.94) at most.<\/p>\n
\"I won't insist on staying here; it's not my land. But I
\ndemand fair compensation as we have made improvements to this
\narea. All we ask is enough money to move elsewhere,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Nurhayati asked her son to take pictures of the house \"so if
\nthey bulldoze it, we'll have evidence to show that we had a
\npermanent house.\"<\/p>\n
As in the case of West Jakarta, North Jakarta Mayor Effendi
\nAnnas has also announced that his officers will demolish
\ndwellings built illegally in the area under his jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
The demolition will target houses built on land owned by
\nstate-owned oil and gas company PT. Pertamina in Plumpang, by PT
\nJasa Marga along the toll road in Pluit and along the banks of
\nthe Angke and Adem Rivers and the Cengkareng Main Drain.<\/p>\n
Some 200 fishermen from the Angke and Adem Rivers demonstrated
\non Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan against the proposal.<\/p>\n
Sexual abuse allegation made to Jakarta Police<\/p>\n
The family of a 15-year-old girl who was reportedly abused
\nfollowing her eviction in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, has reported
\nthe matter to the Jakarta Police.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the case will soon go to court,\" said Saur M.
\nSimanungkalit, a spokesperson of the evicted Cengkareng
\nresidents.<\/p>\n
He said the residents would also file other complaints
\ninvolving violence during the eviction.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the National Commission on Child Protection Seto
\nMulyadi said earlier that he had received a report of possible
\nsexual harassment involving a girl who was found in a state of
\nshock at Kota railway station, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The girl claimed she had been taken from Cengkareng and moved
\nto various places in Jakarta following the eviction, by several
\nmen wearing blue uniforms.<\/p>\n
In a hearing on Wednesday at the office of the National
\nCommission on Human Rights, Central Jakarta, the girl's mother
\ncried and screamed, saying her girl was raped and demanding Seto,
\nwho attended the hearing, help investigate the case.<\/p>\n
No official statement was made by the police on the matter. --
\nJP<\/p>",
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