Mayoralty sued in land dispute

JAKARTA (JP): A 57-year-old woman is suing the South Jakarta mayoralty for the return of a piece of land she says was unlawfully confiscated from her, together with Rp 1.3 billion (US$590,909) in compensation.

The woman, Aminah Ismail Goyo, told the South Jakarta District Court yesterday that the 4,300-square-meter plot of land, now being occupied by the mayoralty, is part of her property.

She said she inherited the land from her parents and that the land, located on Jl. Pahlawan, South Jakarta, had belonged to her family for decades.

"Aminah has legal documents regarding the land," commented Aminah's lawyer, Harry Ibrahim, adding that his client was born on the land in 1938 and her late father had been buried on the land.

Harry told Presiding Judge Syamsuddin that in 1986 the South Jakarta mayoralty suddenly demolished the buildings by force and then occupied the land.

On Dec. 31, 1993, without prior notice, the South Jakarta mayor issued a letter, No. 570/1.711.3, prohibiting Aminah from using the land. The letter said that Aminah's land was in the possession of the South Jakarta mayoralty. The mayoralty subsequently erected a fence around the land. (29)