'Both the city and the squatters are wrong'

The city administration has evicted around 1,500 families who had previously occupied a 55-hectare plot of land belonging to Perum Perumnas in Kampung Baru, West Jakarta. The forcible eviction left some people injured, due to unexpected clashes between the residents and the apparatus. Worse still, Governor Sutiyoso stated that the squatters were not residents of Jakarta and therefore, had only two choices: to return to their hometowns or move to another island. The Jakarta Post asked a law expert and some residents about the issue.

Muhammad Asrun, 43, is the Judicial Watch chairman. He lives in Rawamangun, East Jakarta with his wife and three children:

If Governor Sutiyoso just tries to avoid the issue by saying that the evicted residents are not citizens, it is not fair. It would be better for him to provide them with housing.

I believe that the residents have more rights than Sutiyoso credits them with. They have legal rights. But they are still in a weak position.

They are Indonesian citizens. They deserve decent living arrangements and housing, as is stipulated in our Constitution. I guess he does not know about law.

Sutiyoso should have stopped to read the Constitution before the people were forcefully evicted with firearms.

I think the land is in absentia, meaning that if people occupy it for a certain number of years they can appeal to the authorities to attain property rights.

The provision of decent housing for the residents would minimize social unrest and lift up our dignity as a nation.

Dradjad, 32, is an employee at an international organization on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta. He resides in Pulomas, East Jakarta with his family:

The recent eviction and similar cases are inhumane. I saw on TV how the squatters were treated like animals by the city apparatus during the clash.

The administration should exercise decency and civility in the resolution of such problems, despite the squatters illegal status.

They tried to survive their economic hardship by living on vacant land. This is the only way to survive if the government never supports you.

Why didn't the administration take harsher measures from the very start of their occupancy?

Sutiyoso should not just deny that they are his people. West Jakarta and its residents are under his authority, right?

However, life in the city is a mess. It makes me dizzy. In many ways both sides are wrong.

Ashari, 45, is a sidewalk vendor who runs a food stall in Kebayoran, South Jakarta. He lives in Palmerah, West Jakarta with his wife:

I completely disagree with the forced eviction. I take pity on the homeless.

The bloody riots should never have occurred. if only the administration had a more humane approach.

They have to sit together and talk about the problem. I'm sure there will be a way out.

I believe that the evictions will trigger new social problems. These problems are very dangerous for the city government.

Leo Wahyudi S