Governor asks court to drop 'becak' suit

Governor asks court to drop 'becak' suit

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso demanded the Central Jakarta
District Court on Monday to drop a civil lawsuit filed by becak
(pedicab) drivers against his decision to uphold a 1988 bylaw
that prohibits becak operation in the city, accusing the lawsuit
as incomplete.

"The plaintiffs have failed to name the city council (DPRD) as
a party which was also responsible for the issuance of the City
Bylaw no. 11/1988, which prohibits becak operation in the city,"
said lawyers of the governor before a hearing at the district
court, presided over by judge Manis Sudjono.

In their defense statement, the lawyers said the bylaw was
issued by the governor upon the city council's agreement.

"The city council should also be included as a defendant in
the case. Omission of the co-defendant means the lawsuit is
incomplete," said the lawyers, who alternated reading of the
statement.

Sutiyoso was represented by his lawyers: Susanto, Aleston
Tambunan and Hasan Ismail and the pedicab drivers by Sri Wiyanti
Eddyono from the Association of Indonesian Women for Justice
(APIK). Hundreds of pedicab drivers attended the hearing to
observe the proceedings.

Sutiyoso's defense statement also questioned the identities of
the plaintiffs.

"The plaintiffs did not provide copies of their identity cards
in the lawsuit, stipulating that they are city residents," it
said.

The civil lawsuit was filed at district court in February by
139 pedicab drivers on behalf of approximately 6,000 pedicab
drivers operating in the city.

The pedicab drivers demanded the governor allow them to
operate in areas such as housing complexes and local markets in
the capital.

The governor's defense statement also rejected the plaintiffs'
statement in a previous hearing, accusing the administration of
having resorted to violence in clearing the becaks from the city.

The administration has offered to pay the pedicab drivers Rp
250,000 each, if they voluntarily hand over the pedicabs to the
government, the defense statement said, citing the offer as
evidence of the city administration's non-violent approach.

According to the statement, the government has provided
skills training to the pedicab drivers so that they could find
other jobs.

The defense claimed the pedicab drivers have agreed to the
proposals. "A total of 2,978 pedicab drivers have handed over
their pedicabs, while 1,694 others have returned to their
hometowns," the statement said.

The presiding judge adjourned the hearing until next week when
the court will hear statements from lawyers representing the
pedicab drivers. (asa)