Evictees seek help from City Council

Evictees seek help from City Council

Bambang Nurbianto and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Some 200 victims of evictions from Tanjung Duren Selatan
subdistrict, West Jakarta, staged a demonstration in front of the
City Council to demand that the council participate actively in
seeking a peaceful solution to their problems.

The residents became homeless after their houses were
demolished on Sept. 17 by city authorities. The demonstrators
urged councillors to force executives to provide temporary
shelter for the evictees.

"Because they (councillors) are our representatives in the
City Council, we ask them to pay serious attention to our
problem. Their presence in the City Council is useless if they
ignore our aspirations," said Togar, a demonstrator.

During the demonstration, the evictees were accompanied by
labor activist Muhtar Pakpahan, who was appointed their legal
advisor in bringing the case to court.

Muhtar and several representatives of the demonstrators were
received by the chairman of City Council Commission A for
administrative and legal affairs, Pantas Nainggolan, and his
deputy Posman Siahaan.

Some demonstrators expressed their disappointment with the
commission when they were informed by Muhtar that the councillors
could do nothing to help them.

Muhtar told the demonstrators that the City Council would send
letters to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National
Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to seek a peaceful
solution.

"That is no answer, if that is all they can do, as we can
write letters to the ministry and Komnas HAM ourselves. What we
want now is shelter for our families," said Tiar, a 40-year-old
woman who joined the demonstration.

Muhtar said in a statement that the eviction carried out by
the West Jakarta municipality was a violation of the law and
basic human rights, as it was conducted through violent means and
caused hundreds of people to suffer in becoming homeless.

Muhtar also accused West Jakarta mayor Sarimun Hadisaputra of
making a false statement in saying that the Tandjung Duren
Selatan eviction was executed by order of the West Jakarta
District Court.

"The head of the West Jakarta District Court never issued any
letter ordering the West Jakarta municipality to demolish houses
on the land," he said.

On the same day in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, a number of
officials from the National Commission for Children's Protection
(Komnas PA) visited a riverbank, where hundreds of evicted
families are now living aboard their fishing boats after their
huts were recently demolished by public order officers.

Seto Mulyadi, Komnas PA chairman, distracted dozens of
children from their woes with a magic show. The children looked
delighted with Kak Seto, as he is affectionately called, who
entertained them with sleight of hand.

"Komnas PA is here to keep up the evicted children's spirits
and encourage them to continue going to school, despite the
hardships they must endure," he said.

Indeed, the situation the children must face is tough.

Pipit, 11, read out a poem she wrote in front of friends and
Komnas PA activists, which describes how the children sleep, with
only the mosquitoes and night winds for company, because they are
homeless.

However, Pipit and several other children left for school as
usual on Wednesday morning -- but they were not wearing their
uniforms, which were destroyed along with their homes.

"I do my homework here," she said, indicating the small prayer
room that was left intact during the eviction. "But sometimes I
do homework on my boat."