Squatters demand compensation

Squatters demand compensation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Some 200 evicted squatters from Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta,
staged a demonstration at the West Jakarta District Court on
Tuesday to demand more compensation.

Evicted on Oct. 2, 2003, the 280 former residents have yet to
receive compensation for the money they spent building homes on
the site, which they claim totaled Rp 9.3 billion (US$1 million).

PT. Sinar Slipi Jaya is now building the Mediterania Apartment
complex where their former homes once stood in the Taman Anggrek
area of West Jakarta.

"I lived there for two years. I had to sell almost all the
valuable belongings that I had, including my wife's jewelry and
the land I owned back in my village in Pekalongan, Central Java,
to build my home there. Altogether I spent almost Rp 55 million,"
said Sentot, a father of two children who runs an unregistered
taxi service.

"We are here today, again, to ask for our right to
compensation," said Ali Nugraha, the coordinator of the rally.
This was their 13th demonstration outside the courthouse during
the legal proceedings on the case.

The former residents are basing their case on payments they
say they made to a land broker representing the owner of the
site.

The residents are suing former West Jakarta mayor Sarimun
Hadisaputra, PT Sinar Slipi Jaya, the reputed owner of the land,
Agustina Munawar, and the city defense/security agency for
compensation.

"The compensation for each family ranges from Rp 12 million to
hundreds of millions of rupiah. But that does not include
anything for duress or other non-material effects of the
evictions," he said.