Halt on evictions demanded

Halt on evictions demanded

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As talks with city administration officials on violent evictions
have become futile, three human rights commissions called on
Thursday for a moratorium on all eviction plans in the next 180
days, pending an evaluation of the city's policy on eviction.

"We call on the administration to stop forced eviction by
halting all eviction plans for 180 days," said Nunuk P. Murniati,
member of the National Commission on Violence Against Women
(Komnas Perempuan), at a media conference.

The demand was made jointly by the National Commission on
Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the National Commission on Child
Protection (Komnas Anak) and Komnas Perempuan. It also formed
part of an open letter to Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso sent later in
the day.

The three commissions demanded the administration relocate the
evicted people to appropriate places and provide proper treatment
for children suffering from distress, post-violence trauma and
illness, as well as provide education for them.

"We demand the administration not allow itself to be used by
the owners of capital as an instrument of popular repression ...
Development should not sacrifice the interests and basic rights
of the public," Komnas Anak chairman Seto Mulyadi said.

He added that the City Social Affairs Agency had agreed to
provide one-year scholarships and school equipment for about 150
school-aged children from Cengkareng Timur district, whose houses
were bulldozed by the West Jakarta municipality administration on
Sept. 17.

The three commissions highlighted violations of the people's
basic rights and possible negative impacts of violent evictions,
such as job losses, an increased number of street children, a
rise in street crime and growing anti-government resentment.

"We recorded that one resident died of injuries he sustained
in a clash with public order officers, while one girl is
suspected to have been a victim of rape by the officers in charge
of the eviction," Taheri Noor of Komnas HAM said.

Komnas Anak executive director Arist Merdeka Sirait added that
the commission had reported the alleged rape to the Jakarta
Police Headquarters on Wednesday, demanding that a serious
investigation be carried out.

"The 13-year-old girl had just arrived home from school on
Sept. 17 but found her home was gone and could not find her
parents. She said she was abducted by five men in blue uniform
and was left in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, three days later. A
medical examination confirmed that she had been raped," he said.

Earlier, Urban Poor Consortium coordinator Wardah Hafidz and
several councillors identified a more concrete solution to
eviction by proposing a land-sharing deal between land owners and
the public.

By the end of this month, the administration is scheduled to
continue in its plans to recover land from squatters in several
areas in North Jakarta, namely Kali Adem riverbank, Muara Karang;
Tanah Merah, Plumpang, and under the Wiyoto Wiyono toll road,
Pluit, as well as at Tegal Alur cemetery, West Jakarta.