Slum residents to sue developer

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Scavengers Association plans to sue a land developer and the North Jakarta mayoralty for forcefully evicting its members in Rorotan and Cakung.

Association chairwoman Cathy Lengkong told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the eviction of thousands of scavengers in the two slum areas was unlawful.

Cathy said the scavengers have legal grounds for occupying the land. Based on Presidential Decree No 55 issued in 1958 people who till government land deserve compensation. She said the families in Cakung Cilincing have occupied the site since 1978 while those in Rorotan have done so since 1983.

"They can not evict people just like that without any compensation," Cathy said, but refused to elaborate on the amount of money which the families want in compensation.

According to Cathy, developer PT Green Garden has paid the families Rp 1 million in compensation and provided two trucks to transport the people back to their hometowns.

Support

Cathy said the Rorotan farm families have asked for the House's support to ensure they are allowed to reoccupy their houses until the case is settled.

The families visited the House on Tuesday to protest against their forceful eviction from the land they have cultivated since the early 1980s.

Meanwhile, more than 300 families lost their homes on Jl. Cakung-Cilincing in North Jakarta on Wednesday when security guards from the district city administration demolished their shelters.

A Logistics Agency (BULOG) warehouse will be built on the land, an official said.

The families, who are mainly scavengers and laborers, were given no notice of the eviction.

"Nobody knew about it. As far as we knew the eviction was to be done on Friday," Suparmin, 31, an occupant told Antara news agency.

He said the area used to be a garbage dump before they began tilling it in 1982. (01)