Court turns down fishermen's suit

JAKARTA: The North Jakarta District Court ruled Monday against 31 families of fishermen who sued the city administration for evicting them from a plot of land in East Ancol to make way for the development of sports facilities.

Presiding judge M. Hatta said it was the state who had the right to the land and the eviction was legal.

Lawyer Uli Parulian Sihombing, who represented the fishermen, said that the plaintiffs had occupied the 1,800 square plot since 1970. He argued that the state had no right to the land, which was formed through natural sedimentation.

"The state should have facilitated the citizens' rights to the land or how it is used," he said after the decision, adding that he would appeal the decision.

He also said the court had failed to consider the testimony of expert witnesses. HS Dillon from the National Commission of Human Rights had testified that the eviction breached human rights, while urban planner Marco Kusumawidjaja said that the area was supposed to be used for homes or warehouses, not for sports facilities.

About 20 police officers guarded the courtroom during the session attended by dozens of fishermen and their family members. --JP