Residents protest over compensation

Residents protest over compensation

JAKARTA (JP): Thirty residents of North Koja district, North
Jakarta, protested outside City Council on Thursday to demand
higher compensation for their land, which was acquired in 1994
for the construction of a 375-hectare asphalt plot for freight
containers.

The residents said the compensation provided by developer PT
Humpuss and Tanjung Priok Port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia
(Pelindo) II was not reasonable.

"The compensation was too low," Arifin, the group's
coordinator, said.

He said the residents received between Rp 100,000 (US$14) and
Rp 300,000 per square meter.

"But we later found out that the two companies paid Rp
1,250,000 per square meter for another plot in the same area in
1998.

"Therefore we demand an adjustment to the compensation that we
received in 1994, similar to the amount that other residents
received in 1998," he said.

He said both companies asked North Koja residents in 1994 to
sell their land because the 375-hectare area was set to be
developed to store containers. The plot was inaugurated by former
president Soeharto on Feb. 26, 1998.

Sagiman, another resident, said the money they received in
1994 was only enough to rent a house in a small alley in the
Semper area, also in North Jakarta.

He also said the residents had been forced by the two
companies to sell their land.

"We didn't want to sell our land and houses, but they
threatened that they would take us to court," he said.

The North Koja residents now live in various locations across
the city. Like Sagiman, most of them live in slums.

The residents were received by City Council Commission D
councillors for development affairs.

Councillor Tarmidi Suhardjo of the Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), who is also the council deputy
speaker, said the council would send a letter to both companies
demanding an explanation over the matter.

"We will also try to arrange a meeting between residents and
the companies, so that both parties can solve the problem," he
said. (09)