Eviction of squatters turns ugly in Batam, rioting erupts

Eviction of squatters turns ugly in Batam, rioting erupts

Fadli, Batam

A riot erupted on Thursday when police and public order officers
tried to evict more than 400 illegal houses on the industrial
island of Batam, Riau province.

At least two people were shot by police and seven others were
beaten, while several cars including two belonging to television
stations, were burned or damaged during the unrest.

The violence forced local traders to close their stores for
fear they would be attacked.

The clashes started after public order officers assisted by
police personnel arrived at around 9 a.m. to bulldoze the
illegally constructed shanties in Tanah Longsor, Lubuk Baja
subdistrict.

However, hundreds of squatters violently resisted the attempt
to evict them from their shacks, which were built on a 10-hectare
site belonging to housing developer PT Cikitsu.

The local administration promised to pay the squatters Rp 2
million each, but they refused to move.

Instead, the squatters pelted stones at the security officers,
wrecked one of their trucks and set ablaze a car belonging to the
Batam Authority's security directorate.

The rioters also damaged two cars belonging to two private
television stations, SCTV and Metro TV.

In response, police officers fired shots at the rioters,
wounding two of them, who were later identified as Freedy, 28,
and Safredi, 20.

Seven other people were also slightly injured in the clash.
However, all nine victims were allowed to leave the two local
hospitals where they were being treated some hours later.

SCTV and Metro TV cameramen said they tried to flee the
violence in their cars, but the enraged rioters stoned their
vehicles.

Toni, a squatter, said the local residents refused to accept
the compensation from the Batam municipal administration,
labeling the amount on offer as derisory.

The riot ended after around three hours when Batam legislative
council speaker Soeryo Respationo intervened and asked the
representatives of the squatters to restart negotiations at the
council building in Batam Center.

The talks, which were convened later in the day, decided to
delay indefinitely the planned eviction of the squatters.

Barelang deputy police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Heru Winarko told
The Jakarta Post that at least two persons were being questioned
for allegedly inciting the unrest.

"We are questioning two persons. We have not yet determined
whether they will be treated as suspects or witnesses," he said.

The security situation in Tanah Longsor returned to normal in
the afternoon, though dozens of automotive repair and spare parts
shops had to close.

The building of illegal shelters, now numbering more than
40,000, has been a long-standing problem in Batam, which is
located some 20 kilometers away from neighboring Singapore.

The squatters, mostly from other provinces, began to establish
their settlements illegally when the island was made an
industrial zone during the administration of former president
Soeharto.