Mayoralty delays evictions in Bendungan Hilir

Mayoralty delays evictions in Bendungan Hilir

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta mayoralty will halt
evictions in Bendungan Hilir for an indefinite period following
Monday's riot which left several people injured.

"We will halt evictions indefinitely because current
conditions are counterproductive to our efforts in clearing the
area," Mora Tua Simamora, the Central Jakarta Deputy Mayor, told
reporters at City Hall yesterday.

Simamora was at City Hall to attend an inauguration ceremony
of several senior officials.

Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, who led the induction ceremony,
said the city administration will not drop plans to build low
cost apartments in Bendungan Hilir area just because of the riot.

"The basic goal of the project is to provide residents with
proper housing. Therefore, we will continue with the project,"
Surjadi said.

Surjadi defended the plan to build a housing project in
Bendungan Hilir saying that the city administration is treating
the area residents humanely because it has agreed to provide a Rp
400,000 (US$190) allowance per family to rent temporary housing
pending the completion of the construction of the apartments.

"The city administration, in fact, could just tell them to
leave because the land belongs to the government. On the contrary
the government is offering them enough money to rent
temporarily," Soedirdja said.

Simamora said that 300 of the 465 families living on the site,
which was ravaged by fire on Sept. 9, have already taken the
money.

Some of the fire victims opposed the city administration's
plan to build low cost apartments and began erecting semi-
permanent buildings on the location in open defiance of the
government appeal.

Members of the civil defense corps and police officers, who
were armed with riot shields and rattan sticks,
scuffled with more than 1,000 stone throwing occupants who
protested the evictions.

Several people, including members of civil defense corps, were
injured in the scuffle.

Surjadi hinted that the city administration will change their
strategy in evicting the fire victims from the area.

"We will do it carefully, step by step, so the residents
accept our presence there. We will also intensify the campaign
and inform them that the development of the project will be of
benefit to them," he said.

Elements

Surjadi, a former Jakarta military commander, accused certain
elements in the area of inciting the fire victims to ask for
unreasonable compensation.

"I urge them to stop their actions because sooner or later we
will identify them," he said.

Simamora ruled out the possibility that the city
administration will meet the demands of the residents asking for
compensation between Rp 1million and Rp 5 million per square
meter.

"We absolutely cannot fulfil their demand because there is a
law regulating the amount of compensation for areas to be used
for public projects," Simamora said, adding that the land
clearance committee has offered the fire victims compensation of
Rp 235,000 per square meter. (yns)