Kebon Kacang residents worried about demolition
JAKARTA (JP): "Where will we go when our house is demolished? The amount of compensation will not be sufficient to find a place in the city," Supri, a resident of the disputed area of Kebon Kacang subdistrict, said on Saturday.
Supri's house was one of two houses partly demolished on May 29, but he had insisted on staying there. The demolition was marked by a clash between security officers and residents, who have not received any compensation.
The government wants to clear a two-hectare plot of land, where 19 families had been living for years -- including Supri's -- to make way for the construction of a hotel and an apartment complex by PT Asia Troika.
The land, siting on a prime site in Central Jakarta, is the last piece of land to be cleared. It is part of a total 14 hectares of land where the new buildings will be constructed.
A handyman, Supri used to share his two-story small house with five other people. Supri, his wife and two little daughters now share a 3-by-2.5 meter two-story makeshift shelter with three other people.
"Poor children of mine. They were virtually soaked from Friday night's rain," Supri told The Jakarta Post.
Only three of the 19 families hold land certificates. The rest have only incomplete land documents, despite the fact that they have been living there for more than 30 years.
The government appraised the land at the price of Rp 2,350,000 per square meter for uncertified land and Rp 2.6 million for certified land. Residents claim that the current value of land in the area is at least Rp 4 million per square meter.
According to Supri, the authorities should heed the residents' grievances.
"With Rp 20 million, it is virtually impossible to find a living place in the city," Supri said.
The recent UN Conference on Human Settlements in Istanbul, Turkey, has called on governments to uphold people's right to adequate housing and stop evictions.
Representatives from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute told the Conference that the Indonesian government often fails to negotiate compensation money with residents affected by demolition.
According to the lawyers, this practice is against Presidential Decree No. 55/1993, which stipulates that negotiation is essential in land acquisition and demolition.
The amount of compensation should be set during discussions involving the people who will have to give up their land and buildings.
Budi Santosa, head of the Kebon Kacang neighborhood community, said he learned that the Central Jakarta mayoralty office was holding a demolition squad meeting in preparation for a demolition scheduled for today.
Budi told the Post that he was caught in a dilemma.
"If I tell them the news, some people will think that I wished to instigate social unrest. On the other hand, residents continuously ask me for advice about what to do."
The Central Jakarta Mayor, Abdul Kahfi, told reporters over the weekend that the demolition will continue, and that it is just a matter of choosing the right time. (14)