Locals don't want to be railroaded

Locals don't want to be railroaded

JAKARTA: Residents of Lorong W Barat in Tanjung Priok refused
to vacate their homes in the area, to make way for the North
Jakarta administration's project to reconstruct a railroad
connecting Pasoso station and the Jakarta International Container
Terminal in Koja.

"We're not squatters. We've lived here for over 20 years now
and we have legal documents and identity cards. We don't believe
the railroad project is a good enough reason to evict us," a
resident, Sujono, said, as reported by Tempointeraktif news
portal on Thursday.

The residents said the railroad project had been stalled since
1993.

The rail track has been buried underneath Jl. Sulawesi and a
concrete building near Tanjung Priok port.

The administration promised compensation money of Rp 500,000
(some US$56) to residents who dismantle their houses themselves.
-- JP