Ancol fisherfolk to be evicted -- again
JAKARTA: The city administration is set to evict on Saturday morning the fisherfolk of Ancol Timur, North Jakarta, from the place where they are currently housed behind the PT Manggala Krida Yudha Rukindo building, where they have lived since 2001.
Hermawanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, who is representing the fisherfolk, said in a statement made available to the media on Thursday that the 2001 eviction case was still in the hands of the Supreme Court.
He also said that the only way of reaching the location was by boat from the Ancol amusement park as road access had been blocked by security guards and a group of unidentified men.
The Jakarta administration has come under fire for its eviction policy, which the National Commission on Human Rights and urban activists consider as inhumane and an affront to people's civil rights. -- JP
;JP;BBY;Antara; CD ANPAj..r.. Greater-train-airport JP/8/G-TRAIN
Train to reach the airport
JAKARTA: The central government has given the green light for the construction of a railway line linking Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang, to Jakarta.
"The plan to construct the railway track has received the green light from us. Go ahead," said Iskandar Abubakar, director general of land transportation at the Ministry of Communications, on the sidelines of a seminar on Wednesday.
Once the construction of the railway was completed, people would have an alternative means of transportation to the airport, he said.
So far, the best way to get to the airport is by the toll road, although this is often congested, and was closed a few times in the past by flooding.
Iskandar added the construction work would cost an estimated Rp 1.2 trillion (US$141 million).
The railway track will connect the airport to Poris station on the western outskirts of Tangerang, and Manggarai station, South Jakarta. -- Antara
;JP;BBY;Antara;CD; ANPAj..r.. Greater-drugs-trial JP/8/G-JUKI
15 years sought for alleged drug dealer
JAKARTA: Prosecutors urged a 15-year jail term for Michael James Wangko alias Juki, 33, who is currently standing trial for possessing two kilograms of ecstasy pills.
Prosecutor Titin Resthiana told the West Jakarta District Court on Wednesday that the defendant was a drug pusher and that he had been proven guilty of the illegal possession of drugs at the time of his arrest on July 2, 2003.
She also urged the court to fine the defendant Rp 150 million (US$17,647), or an additional four months in prison should he fail to pay.
Wangko, who did not have legal representation, was arrested in a room at the Taman Anggrek Apartments in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, by Jakarta Police detectives.
In his statement, Wangko claimed he had just received the drugs from a man called Teddy upon the instruction of Lukman Siswanto alias Kok Eng, whom Wangko claimed was the owner of the pills.
"I was only told to receive the drugs and deliver them to another person. They promised me Rp 6 million for this," he told reporters.
Teddy is still at large, while Kok Eng is now serving a jail term at the Tangerang Penitentiary for drug possession.
Presiding Judge Muchtar Ritonga adjourned the trial for a week to hear defense pleas.--Antara