Demolition in Cengkareng Timur to go on: Mayor

Demolition in Cengkareng Timur to go on: Mayor

JAKARTA (JP): West Jakarta Mayor Sutardjianto remains adamant that all structures now standing on the land in Cengkareng Timur owned by the state-run housing developer, Perum Perumnas, must be demolished by the end of this month at the latest.

The mayor said he was undeterred by residents' plans to file a an official complaint with the Jakarta State Administrative Court

"Go and head and do that, but the show must go on," Sutardjijanto said.

He said he had received a letter signed by J. Soeharto, who claimed to be a resident. The letter threatened that the residents would kill the Cengkareng subdistrict chief and the unit chief of the Tangerang state housing development office if the mayoralty went through with the demolition.

The letter said the two officials would meet the same fate as Jumali, a resident, who was killed shortly after he accepted the compensation money offered by the developer.

Sutardjijanto said that despite intensive investigations nobody by the name of J. Soeharto could be found among the people living in the area.

"Whoever he is, I'm not influenced by these cheap bluffs," he said."We have repeatedly ordered them to clear the land which belongs to the state."

Sources who asked not to be identified disclosed that Sumali was killed by area residents who suspected him of being a"spy" for the state housing developer.

Sutardjijanto stressed if the squatters continue to ignore the orders to dismantle their homes and vacate the area -- as they have vowed they will -- the mayoralty will forcibly evict them to make way for the demolition of the structures.

The disputed plot is part of 334 hectares of land that was acquired in 1973 by the municipality. The area was designated for a housing complex to be developed by the state housing developer with some World Bank financing at the time.

However, as the housing project progressed, the state housing developer encountered problems in 1987 with a plot of about 60 hectares because it had been occupied by 2,819 squatter families.

Since then a series of negotiations over the amount of compensation the government should give to the squatters have kept breaking down.

Sutardjijanto alleged that there are some unscrupulous people who are supporting the actions of the residents who continue to refuse to leave the area. "These irresponsible people are trying to fish in troubled water. This has exacerbated the matter."

The mayor called on all concerned with the problem to help with the implementation of this state program.

"I don't want to see physical clashes between security officers and the squatters. I hope all involved with this problem can restrain themselves from resorting to violence," he said.

Muhamad Latief, head of the Jakarta office of the state housing developer, said the authorities were making reasonable offers to the squatters, including the chance to own a house in another state housing complex.

Some of the residents who originally accepted the offer have since gone back on their word, sources said.

A total of 5,555 families that took the offer of an alternative housing site have since returned to Cengkareng, Latief said.

The compensation rates offered range from Rp20,000 to Rp50,000 per square meter of property.(bas)