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)