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.