Bogor mayor ready to face lawsuit

Bogor mayor ready to face lawsuit

JAKARTA (JP): Bogor Mayor Eddi Gunardi has said that he is
ready to face a lawsuit should the owner of bulldozed house
choose to file one.

The house, built without permission, was demolished by
mayoralty law and order agency officers earlier this month.

"Let her file a lawsuit at the West Java Administrative Court.
I'm ready to face it," Eddi was quoted by Antara as saying in
Bogor on Monday.

Eddi made the remark in answer to a question about the
possibility that Mrs. Amina Toriq, the owner of the demolished
building, would sue the mayor.

The house, built without the necessary permit, had been
located on 2,000-square meters of land on Jl. Terusan Bukit
Tunggul in North Bogor and was valued at approximately Rp 1
billion (US$454,545).

Eddi said that the house's owner had known that the area on
which the house was built had been earmarked by the Bogor city
administration for the construction of an outer ring road.

Although Mrs. Amina's application for a building permit had
been turned down on Oct. 1, 1993, Eddi said, she had continued to
build the house.

The demolition began on Jan. 19 but was postponed briefly
following the issuance of a 60-day injunction by the West Java
court.

The mayor, however, instructed his subordinates to continue
demolition, ignoring the court's decision on the grounds that the
ruling wasn't "fair."

"Having studied the ruling from various legal standpoints, and
in order to uphold the city administration's authority, I decided
that the demolition had to go on," the mayor said.

Mrs. Amina has yet to comment on the demolition. (hhr)