Court orders rights body to act against evictions

Court orders rights body to act against evictions

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

The Central Jakarta District Court ordered the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Thursday to step up
its efforts in providing a fair and just solution for victims of
forced evictions and in protecting residents from future
evictions.

In addition, the court rejected a request filed by the Jakarta
Residents Forum (Fakta) that the rights commission be declared
guilty of neglect in protecting citizens from human right abuses
as stipulated in Law No. 39/1999 on human rights.

Fakta filed a civil lawsuit against Komnas HAM, accusing it of
doing nothing to investigate alleged human rights abuses
committed last year by the Jakarta administration through a
series of forced evictions.

Fakta presented as evidence its reports on 19 separate
evictions carried out in 2003 in the capital that left more than
40,000 people homeless.

The report included evictions in Tambora and East Cengkareng,
West Jakarta, during which public order officers allegedly beat
residents, burned and looted their belongings and sexually abused
a 13-year-old girl. One of the shantytown residents died from the
alleged beating.

Presiding judge Suripto read out the verdict, declaring that
Fakta's collection of evidence and evictees' testimonies showed
that forced evictions had indeed occurred, and that many of the
evictions showed indications of human rights abuse.

"The evidence and testimonies, however, have also revealed
that Komnas HAM showed its concern in regards the evictions,"
Suripto said, referring to the commission's willingness to
receive complaints from the evictees.

Komnas HAM lawyer Firman Wijaya told reporters after the
hearing that the commission would accept the ruling, and stressed
it was not a matter of winning or losing.

"The suit was an educational example to the public on how to
exercise their legal rights," he said.

Meanwhile, Fakta chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan said the forum
would also accept the verdict and was satisfied with it. "The
main point is that Komnas HAM is now legally bound to be more
active against evictions. If it still doesn't do anything about
it, then we will file another lawsuit."

Ibu Mama, an evictee from East Cengkareng who also attended
the hearing, expressed her hope that the verdict would finally
resolve her family's homeless status, as they had been staying at
the Komnas HAM compound since last September.