Special team established to assess eviction

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas Ham) established on Monday a special team to evaluate the administration's policy on eviction of people living along the riverbanks and slum areas.

The team was established to make sure that the eviction process, currently being conducted by the City Public Order Office, would not violate human rights.

City Governor Sutiyoso agreed to temporarily slow down the forced removals during the holy month of Ramadhan, but he rejected the Commission's idea for a 100-day moratorium of the evictions.

"We will continue the policy. But we will slow it down during the fasting month of Ramadhan," Sutiyoso told reporters after meeting with Komnas Ham's secretary general Asmara Nababan at the City Hall.

"There is no guarantee that the squatters will not return to the land. So we will continue with more evictions, but it should not violate human rights," Sutiyoso added.

He justified the recent forced removals of the people on the grounds that they were not Jakarta residents and they had illegally been living on public property.

"We are caught in a dilemma of enforcing the law and balancing that with human rights.

"On one hand, we have done it in accordance with the Bylaws of the City Council, but on the other hand, we are being accused of violating human rights," he said.

In the meeting Nababan was accompanied by chairwoman of the National Commission for Women Saparinah Sadli and chairman of the National Commission for Children Seto Mulyadi.

Nababan demanded the city administration halt the evictions at least for the next 100 days while his team evaluated the recent evictions.

"During those 100 days, we will review the policy. The city administration should have new procedures which respect human rights," he said.

He condemned the recent forced removals, which had caused thousands of people to lose their temporary homes and made it difficult for their children to attend school.

Instead of imposing forced eviction, the city administration should encourage the residents to move voluntarily, according to Nababan.

"Relocation should not mean eviction," he said.

The team is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss further efforts on what can be done within 100 days to relocate the residents without violating human rights.

Since October, the city administration has been engaged in the forced removal policy in several areas, including along the riverbanks in Pejagalan and Kapuk Muara, as well as slum areas in East Ancol, North Jakarta.

The Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea also criticized Sutiyoso over the evictions, which were imposed not only against slum residents but also street vendors, becak (pedicab) drivers and others who are considered groups that disturb the public order.