RI inconsistent on settlement rights: NGO
JAKARTA (JP): A group representing evicted residents, street workers and bemo owners said that the government should act according to the statement it presented to the world conference on human settlements in Istanbul, Turkey.
The group called the Jabotabek (Greater Jakarta) Urban People's Communication Forum stated yesterday that the government did not act in accordance with its international statements.
The forum stated that the growth and expansion of cities, particularly Jakarta, only serves business interests.
"The government's position paper (in Istanbul) says it recognizes settlement rights and all related rights," forum member Waskito Adriwibowo said.
"We demand that the position be translated into policies and daily practices," said Waskito, who is also a lawyer at the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.
The institute, 13 other non-government organizations and other groups made up the forum. The two-day forum, which ended yesterday, released a statement on the government's country paper which was presented to the on-going United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II).
The 30 person forum, which discussed urban poverty, also included bemo owners, residents of Jelambar, a women's group from Pisangan and representatives of street children and buskers.
The Jakarta city government plans to phase out city bemo next year. The residents' and women's groups said their members will be evicted, but don't know when.
The forum's statement said the people's right to shelter and right to engage in small business were being violated. It also mentioned problems on transportation policy and women's roles.
City growth confirms the governor's statement that Jakarta is a "service city" with no room for the poor, the forum said.
"Evictions, elimination of traditional transport, arrests and abuse reflect elitist city planning," the statement said.
The forum demanded that city policy be changed to account for the people's right to shelter, right to wages, right to be involved in city planning and right to be free from persecution.
Waskito said current city policies treat the poor as criminals, such as the 1988 rule which limits the people's right to sell in public places.
Bemo
An elderly man representing some 200 bemo owners in central Jakarta said his colleagues felt unprotected by the Association of Public Land Transport Owners, Organda.
The owners refused to register their vehicles at the city land transport agency by the required June 5 deadline, he said.
They did not want to give away their vehicles without compensation and replace them with expensive minibuses.
"We were shocked because the meeting with Organda was about vehicle registration and we would get no compensation because the government has no money," the man said.
After the meeting the owners received leaflets from Suzuki minibus dealers. The leaflets stated that a down payment of over Rp 4.9 million (US$2,078.03) was needed to purchase a minibus. Installments were almost Rp 2 million.
"We ask that the municipality pressure the dealers to subsidize the cars. Our bemo are treated as if they are worthless, while they are still Rp 5 million on the market," he said.
The latest city master plan does not recognize three-wheeled public transport, but this runs counter to the 1992 Traffic Law which recognizes the vehicles, he said. (anr)