Eviction still goes on despite governor's promise
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The evictions of the city's poorest inhabitants continued on the second day of Ramadhan, despite promises from Governor Sutiyoso to stop the practices during the holy month.
City public order officers targeted the same people in West Jakarta for a third time in about six weeks on Tuesday, burning the makeshift tents families had been using as shelter since their homes were destroyed in Tanjung Duren Selatan on Oct. 2.
The latest assault follows Sutiyoso's apparent snub of a summons from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas Ham) to appear at a hearing on Tuesday to account for alleged human rights abuses during a number of evictions in West Jakarta and North Jakarta.
Two people died and a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by men wearing city uniforms during the evictions, which began in September, with scores more left injured.
Tuesday's clearance of dozens of homeless from a bus shelter in front of the abandoned Bank Dewa Ruci building on Jl. S. Parman follows a similar incident on Sunday, when the officers burned makeshift tents in an abandoned building.
The facts contrasted with a speech Sutiyoso gave in front of four Jakarta mayors -- only the South Jakarta mayor was absent -- in a meeting at City Hall on Oct. 22, where he said: "The evictions will be halted during Ramadhan, but their suspension is only temporary."
Angry evictees burned tires in the middle of the busy road to express their anger. Their action caused major traffic congestion in the area for several hours.
In the afternoon, the evictees, who had all their possessions apart from the clothes on their backs taken away by public order officers, shielded from the rain in the bus shelter.
They had no idea where their belongings were taken.
West Jakarta Public Order Agency head Arief Fadillah told The Jakarta Post by phone that the eviction was a "routine job to control public areas".
"Anything that disturbs the public order, like makeshift tents, must be demolished," he said.
The evictees said they had packed their belongings and were about to take refuge at the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) office in Central Jakarta when suddenly the public order officers and thugs allegedly hired by the land owner attacked them.
The eviction processes have intensified in the last two months to meet the governor's call to "make the city secure and orderly".
Several non-governmental organizations have been demanding a moratorium for 180 days, pending an evaluation of the city's eviction policy.
Eight representatives of the evictees filed a complaint with the Jakarta Administrative Court in East Jakarta on Oct. 16, saying the West Jakarta municipality did not have any authority to confiscate the land, which is in dispute between the owner and other parties, thus violating Law. No. 2/1986 on General Court Procedures.
"The administrative court has summoned us to have an administrative examination on Thursday," said Ecoline Situmorang, one of the lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), which represent the residents.
"We expect the hearing to be soon," she added.
Komnas HAM - page 8