Kedoya Utara residents sue West Jakarta mayor

Kedoya Utara residents sue West Jakarta mayor

JAKARTA (JP): As many as 120 residents of Kedoya Utara, West
Jakarta have filed a lawsuit with the Jakarta State
Administrative Court against Mayor Sutardjianto over the
demolition of their shanties.

Court's secretary Moegiyono confirmed yesterday that he had
received the residents' lawsuit. "We just received the lawsuit on
Friday afternoon. We need time to correct it," he said.

The residents are represented by the Legal Aid Institute.

Iriyanto Subiyanto, spokesman for the Legal Aid Institute,
told The Jakarta Post yesterday that residents of Kedoya Utara
said that the mayor never told the residents about the demolition
plan.

West Jakarta authorities demolished 667 houses in Kedoya Utara
and Kembangan shantytowns early this month. More than 1,000
families are now homeless.

The demolition is part of the city's program to make rivers
clean. The program is locally called Prokasih.

The residents denied being illegal occupants, or squatters,
Iriyanto said. "The residents bought the land in Kedoya Utara
some years ago. They have ID cards and pay property tax," he
said. But the lawyer acknowledged that the land belongs to the
state. There was no information as to from whom and how the
residents bought the plots.

He said that each resident is demanding Rp 5 million in
compensation for their property and belongings.

The West Jakarta mayoralty said yesterday they are ready to
face the residents in the State Administrative Court. The
mayoralty secretary, Solichin D.J. said yesterday that what the
mayoralty had done was in line with regulations.

Solichin said the mayoralty would give between Rp 50,000 and
Rp 250,000 in transportation fees to each family.

"Giving that much money is the best thing the mayoralty can
do. The shantytown residents have no rights to demand
compensation," he said.

He said the money would not be given directly to the
squatters. Instead the subdistrict chief will give the money to
the drivers of vehicles the squatters rent to transport their
belongings.

Solichin claimed that around 200 families have accepted the
mayoralty's offer and have moved to other locations.

Solichin said that the city administration plans to use the
former shantytown area, a 3.6 hectare area, as a green belt. The
city administration will plant thousands of trees on the area.

Some of the disgruntled residents went to the city council,
asking the councilors to visit the demolition sites.

"We have been living in makeshift tents and mosques,"
Djumhari, one of the resident, told the councilors yesterday.
(29/yns)