Komnas PA laments child abuse, exploitation in SMP 56 dispute
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) called on all parties involved in the prolonged dispute over SMP 56 state junior high school, Jl. Melawai Raya, South Jakarta, to stop dragging the students into the battle.
"We call on all parties, especially parents, teachers and the school management, not to abuse and exploit children for any reason or for the sake of any particular party's interests," commission chairman Seto Mulyadi said in a statement on Thursday.
According to Seto, the commission had discovered "abuse and exploitation of the students" by involving them in a series of rallies to both support and oppose the property swap deal on the Melawai school between private developer PT Tata Disantara, owned by former manpower minister Abdul Latief, and the Ministry of National Education.
Students, teachers and parents of the "new" SMP 56 on Jl. Jeruk Purut, East Cilandak, and SMU 87 state high school, Bintaro, both in South Jakarta, staged a rally at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, demanding a halt to the dispute over the land swap. The two schools were built by PT Tata Disantara as part of the deal.
Two weeks ago, students of the Melawai school staged a rally at City Hall, demanding that Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso not go ahead with the policy to vacate the Melawai school as they protested the deal.
Seto said that involving the students in the dispute would simply victimize them further.
"Students of SMP 56 in Melawai and also those of the other school have been greatly affected in the matter. They are the actual victims in the dispute," he added.
The commission has been appointed as a mediator to find an amicable solution for the students, while the legal battle between the opposing parties continues.
Separately, Sutiyoso said his administration would go ahead with its policy to vacate the school in Melawai, but he promised not to hand it over to PT Tata Disantara until the Jakarta High Court issued a final ruling.
A group of parents, teachers and students from SMP 56 in Melawai filed a civil suit with the South Jakarta District Court to protest the property swap deal, alleging that it was marred by corruption. However, the court turned down the suit. The group has appealed to the Jakarta High Court and they now await a final ruling on the dispute.
Sutiyoso claimed he had asked the South Jakarta mayor to check the value sale of taxed property (NJOP) of the Melawai school to find out if there were any irregularities involved.