'Dialog with squatters crucial'

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Providing adequate housing for squatters in the city is not an impossible task but a matter of willingness on the part of city officials and the government, said visiting mayor of Naga city, the Philippines, Jesse Robredo.

He said that mutual trust between the government and the affected community should be established in order to be able to open talks to resolve the matter.

For a resettlement program to be successful, the people concerned must be consulted so they will be well informed and completely understand the progress in hand, he said.

"Consulting the people is also a part of trust building, which is important ... meanwhile, violence would only damage people's trust," said Robredo, referring to the violence which often accompanies public order raids on the urban poor here.

In a meeting with Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno at his office, Robredo advised that whatever decision the government took to address squatters residing on riverbanks, the problem must be resolved through talks with the people concerned.

"It is also important for the government to address the basic needs of the people, such as education, health and access to transportation," he commented on the government's plan to build low-cost apartment blocks near rivers to replace the slums.

"Resolving the matter is not a question of budget but a question of priority," added Robredo, who was invited to the city by the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC).

Another guest of the UPC, human rights lawyer Woon-Soon Park, cited his skepticism about the government's determination to resolve the problem.

"The Jakarta governor has no intention of opening talks with squatters or community leaders, nor has he any thought of stopping the violence," he said after the hearing.

While acknowledging that the problem of squatters is a complicated matter and the government's resources were limited, Park stressed that the Indonesian government must abide by internationally established human rights laws in its programs and avoid any form of violence.

After the hearing with the minister, Soenarno said that he would coordinate with the respective government institutions to settle the matter.

"Our authority, however, is limited in efforts to provide housing for the squatters, but I will raise the matter with the minister of social welfare and the Jakarta governor," Soenarno told the UPC delegation.

Separately, the UPC and its visiting guests met a Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) delegation and asked that the matter be raised in the CGI meeting, which will commence on Wednesday.