Special team established to assess eviction
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.