Police want greater role in city's eviction plans

Police want greater role in city's eviction plans

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Concerned by the violence that often accompanies the eviction of
squatters and street vendors, the police have asked the city
administration for a more prominent role in future operations.

With the administration planning to evict street vendors from
around Senen market in Central Jakarta, the Jakarta Police told
the administration on Friday they wanted sufficient notice to be
able to provide security during the operation.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said the
administration should also notify vendors and residents in the
area that evictions were planned, in order to minimize
resistance.

"That means the administration should involve many different
parties in its plans from the beginning, so we can avoid any
negative impacts from the evictions," he said.

Tjiptono said past eviction operations often ended in
violence and the destruction of public property.

He said the police supported the eviction of traders from
around Senen market because the vendors caused heavy traffic in
the area. The evictions are planned for sometime in the next two
weeks.

Senen market lies between three streets -- Jl. Gunung Sahari,
Jl. Bungur and Jl. Suprapto.

The sides of the roads are usually lined with street vendors
selling all types of merchandise, from used clothes to pirated
CDs and DVDs.

Making the situation even worse, customers often stop their
cars in front of the stalls to bargain.

The busy area is also home to the Senen bus terminal, a
railroad station and the Atrium Plaza shopping center.

While many people complain about the street vendors and the
traffic jams they help cause, there is no shortage of people
willing to give the vendors their business.

The administration said earlier it wanted to empty Senen and
redesign the area along the lines of Jl. Sudirman and Jl.
Thamrin.

The Central Jakarta municipality administration said Senen
would be developed into an area similar to Tanah Abang, with the
street vendors relocated to a vacant plot of land.

Discussing the planned evictions in Senen, police spokesman
Tjiptono said public order officers should avoid any physical
contact with vendors.

Past evictions have resulted in vendors being injured or
killed, raising protests from urban activists and human rights
defenders, including the National Commission on Human Rights.