Intensive evictions related to city budget spending
Evi Mariani and Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The intensive evictions of illegal squatters across the capital is apparently related to city budget spending in the last semester by the relevant agencies in the city administration.
"It (the eviction) is one of the efforts of some agencies to escalate their spending," head of the Jakarta Public Order Agency Soebagio said on Wednesday.
The administration was criticized for its sluggish development programs as it was only able to spend around 25 percent of the total Rp 11.5 trillion (US$1.35 billion) city budget in the first semester.
Soebagio named the Jakarta Public Works Agency, among other agencies, that has demolished houses built along riverbanks to achieve its plan to convert the riverbanks into green areas.
The Jakarta Public Works Agency had allocated Rp 32 billion to improve the condition of the rivers, including clearing riverbanks.
Soebagio said that the time was right to remove illegal occupants from the land as the eviction drive was scheduled to finish before the start of Muslim fasting month, which will fall at the end of October.
"Evictions should not be done during the fasting month as physical clashes might occur and that is not good," he said.
Evicted people from East Cengkareng, Jembatan Besi and Kampung Sawah in West Jakarta and Teluk Gong in North Jakarta along with those on the list of coming eviction operations in Muara Angke and Muara Baru in North Jakarta demanded the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to form an independent team to probe human rights violations during the evictions.
"There was a fatality and an alleged rape during an eviction in Cengkareng. Komnas HAM has enough reasons to set up the team," said Azas Tigor Nainggolan, an urban activist who accompanied the residents.
Komnas HAM's vice chairman Solahuddin Wahid responded that the team would be set up if it could be proven that gross human rights violations occurred.
He said that making people homeless was indeed a rights violation but not a gross one.
Komnas HAM has sent two warning letters to the administration on human rights violations that occurred in the eviction. However, the administration has its own agenda to finish the evictions by the end of this month.
"We haven't received any response from the administration. We will summon the governor over the rights violations during the evictions," said Solahuddin.
He also called on city officials "to study human rights".
Separately, hundreds of families in Tegal Alur cemetery, Kalideres district, West Jakarta, voluntarily demolished their houses, complying with an order from the West Jakarta municipality administration to vacate the land.
Each of the 250 families was given Rp 500,000 in compensation.
"The compensation is certainly not enough even to demolish our house and move to another rented house," complained a resident Sri Nuryati. "But what else can we do?"
Suherman, an urban activist who accompanied the residents, said that he and the residents had persuaded the administration to distribute Rp 500,000 for each family instead of spending Rp 150 million for the Public Order officers allowance and to rent excavators and bulldozers.
Head of Kalideres district, Iskandar Ahyar, said when witnessing the demolition that the residents must clear the land by Thursday. Should there be any houses left standing, the officers will demolish them on Friday.