Kenari kiosks torn down

Kenari kiosks torn down

JAKARTA (JP): Officers of the Central Jakarta public order
office torn down hundreds of kiosks at the Kenari market despite
a court decision to postpone the removal.

The kiosks removed Saturday were those which survived a fire
on July 12. At least 100 of 452 kiosks were destroyed on the site
on Jl. Salemba Raya.

The market in which 377 traders last operated has been a
popular electronics market since the 1970s.

Traders argued with the public order officers and one of them,
Merry, was repeatedly slapped on the face as she continued to
shout. Police held her as she tried to fight public order
officers. Her mouth was bleeding.

"Where is the law? They can bulldoze me to death," Merry
cried.

The demolishing of the kiosks was based on a municipality
decision to renovate the market following the fire. The mayoralty
had ordered traders to move or else face demolition.

Traders sued the mayor through the Jakarta Administrative
Court on the grounds that they were occupying disputed land.

The city-owned market company PD Pasar Jaya says the 7,000
square meter plot belongs to them while the claim is contested by
the state-owned railway company, Perumka.

The Court decided on Nov. 6 that demolition should be
postponed pending a consultation with traders, Perumka and Pasar
Jaya.

Merry said she had agreed to move to one of the temporary
kiosks set up by Pasar Jaya but said she was not given a key to
the kiosk.

The company set up 100 makeshift kiosks prioritized for the
fire victims.

Another trader said he and other traders have paid rental fees
to Perumka, and taxes to the Senen district office.

"How come the officers say we are illegal traders?" Yusuf
Darmawan asked.

Earlier, Pasar Jaya spokesman Lihardin Sipayung said Perumka
only owned 231 square meters near the site.

Pasar Jaya says it acquired the plot in 1966 from a government
body then called the People's Economic Agency. The Agency had
acquired the plot from the Dutch colonial government.

Perumka's land, which was a parking lot at the market, would
be affected by a road-widening project, Lihardin said.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has appointed a private contractor,
PT Bina Citra Tata Swasti, to rebuild the Kenari market.

The new market will become a four-story building worth Rp 5
billion (US$2.12 million).

Meanwhile in North Jakarta, Teluk Gong subdistrict housewives
and children screamed as public order officers pulled down their
houses. Officers said the homes were illegal and the residents
had been frequently warned.

But residents said the officials gave them no time at all to
prepare themselves. (jun)