Fisherfolk evicted for fourth time

Bambang Nurbianto The Jakarta Post Jakarta

For the fourth time in seven years, around 50 fishermen and their families, around 160 people, were evicted by the city public order officers from their makeshift homes at Ancol Timur in North Jakarta on Saturday morning.

During the eviction process, the only land access to the site was blocked by heavily armed military troops along with officers from the public order agency.

The only way to reach the site was by boat, ironically, from nearby Ancol Dreamland Park.

When activists from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) arrived at the site, all their plywood and fiberglass houses had been burned down by the officers.

Hermawanto, a lawyer with the LBH Jakarta, said that the fishermen were distraught, as they had no shelter.

Most took their families to stay on their boats while some of them were already planning to stay temporarily at the LBH Jakarta office on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.

According to Hermawanto, the fishermen -- who originally are from Cirebon and Indramayu in West Java -- had been living in Ancol Timur for nearly 30 years.

Saturday's eviction was the fourth for them. They were first evicted in 1997 as the land they had occupied was to be used for the north coast reclamation. After moving to another site in the area, they were evicted for a second time in 1999 for the same reason. In 2001, they were also evicted, although they had moved to another site.

The administration has been planning since 1995 to reclaim the north coast and build a plush housing and business area.

The fishermen's class action suit against the administration was rejected by the Jakarta State Administrative Court and the Jakarta High Court since filing the class action suit in 1993. They appealed to the Supreme Court but there has been no decision.

Head of the North Jakarta public order office Toni Budiono could not be reached for comment.

The LBH Jakarta questioned the administration's persistence in going ahead with its reclamation plan of 2,500 hectares of the northern coast although the legal process on the plan was still ongoing.

The office of the State Minister of the Environment has rejected the reclamation plan, fearing environmental damage. The minister's office lost its legal battle but they filed an appeal and the case is currently at the Jakarta High Court.

The LBH Jakarta also said that the fishermen were not acknowledged by the country as they were not registered for last week's legislative election -- effectively disenfranchising them.