Rights body office still a self-made refugee camp

JAKARTA (JP): More than 70 Depok residents sheltering at the National Commission on Human Rights office grounds had still not moved from the premises yesterday.

"It's been 16 days now," a commission staffer said. "We don't know what to do with them yet."

During the day, the women, children and babies are seen singing in the front yard. Children have missed school. Several men are seen cuddling babies, but most are working.

At night, the number of people on the premises swells to 250 when friends and relatives of the squatters visit.

The commission's fence on Jl. Latuharhari, Central Jakarta, has been covered with the squatters' laundry, which overflows to the bushes along the railway in front of the office.

The squatters, most of them from North Sumatra, sought help from the commission on April 22.

They said they had nowhere to go after the mayoralty told them to leave their shanties on a 19-hectare plot in Pancoran Mas, Depok. The land, which they said they had occupied since 1974, belonged to the Ministry of Health.

In the morning, the squatters have been taking showers and washing clothes, using the commission's water. Commission staffers were naturally annoyed.

Commission secretary-general Baharuddin Lopa said water consumption had risen "by more than 1,000 percent per day" from a half cubic meter to nine cubic meters since the "refugees" arrived.

"We are really frustrated," he said. "I could call the police to throw them out, based on legal grounds, but I looked at all the children and babies and I couldn't. People would call me a cruel man."

He said the commission could tolerate their basic necessities temporarily "but tolerance has its limits".

"This is an office and it's not a refugee camping ground or a residential hall," he said.

The commission, he said, had been put in a very difficult position and people tended to blame their lack of concern.

He said the squatters could not accuse the commission of being inhumane and unconcerned with their case.

Baharuddin said many other groups seeking the commission's help were reluctant when they saw the "refugee camp".

"Since the very first day, we have been providing water and electricity," Lopa said. "We don't feed them anymore because we expect they will willingly move away."

Children have been allowed to spend nights inside the office building; their parents had asked the security guards to keep the door unlocked.

He said the office was not an ideal place for children to live because it lacked medical facilities and proper accommodation.

Commission employee Dahlan said yesterday people from the health office had monitored the squatters' health.

"A non-governmental organization also came to give instant noodles," he said.

Baharuddin said many of the squatters were not residents of Pancoran Mas and were just supporters.

"According to their ID card, many are residences of Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi, North and East Jakarta and even Riau," Lopa said.

"I asked them to return to their previous domicile or stay over with their relatives."

"It's impossible that someone who owns a motorcycle cannot rent a small house... And they're very clever," he said.

The group's spokesman, Suwandi Pasaribu, said the ID card was not a determinant factor because many were using their relatives addresses.

"The Depok mayoralty refused to issue cards for us," he said.

"We are just low income families who want to defend our belongings and to improve our children's life," Suwandi said.

He said many of the fathers had regular jobs like driving public transportation. He demanded the municipality provide 100- square meters of land for each family. (10)