Squatters occupy a disputed Ancol plot
JAKARTA (JP): A group of 100 people occupied a 1.4-hectare plot of land inside the Ancol dreamland park in North Jakarta on Wednesday.
Claiming to be representatives of the land's heirs, the squatters pitched bamboo and canvas tents and pledged to remain on the site until the park's management, PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, fulfilled its promise to provide Rp 2.2 billion (US$252,000) compensation to the heirs.
"We'll fight for our rights," the group's spokesman, Bulganon Amir, said.
According to Bulganon, the land near Jl. Pasir Putih Raya in the eastern edge of the park was legally owned by H.M. Said, who died in 1985.
Two years before his death, Said was evicted from the land which he had occupied since 1952. He then began a continuous campaign to get compensation from Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, Bulganon said.
The company is jointly owned by the city administration and Ciputra's PT Pembangunan Jaya.
Said was forced to yield the land based on a 1962 city regulation which stipulated that all land located in the area specially designed for the dreamland park would be used by the administration for the project, Bulganon said.
"At the time, the administration promised to exchange the land with another plot of land in another area. But the promise has never been realized," he explained.
Following his death, Said's 16 heirs took over the battle. The then governor Surjadi Soedirdja instructed the park's management to pay the compensation of Rp 2.2 billion to the heirs in May 1993 and May 1997 respectively.
"But the management's never been willing to obey the governor's instruction," Bulganon said, adding that the land had not been touched.
The heirs were stunned last month when they received a letter signed by Governor Sutiyoso which stated that the documents owned by the late Said for the land were illegal, he added.
It appears that the receipt of the letter provoked the heirs to ask their friends to take over the site.
Commenting on the case, the head of the marketing division of Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, Waluyo, insisted that the company would refer to Sutiyoso's letter.
"If they aren't satisfied, they can take the case to court," Waluyo said after meeting three representatives of the squatters.
He said it was the people's right to stage such demonstrations on the site as long as they did not create disorders.
Waluyo admitted that his company did once agree to pay the compensation but revoked its decision following the administration's discovery of the illegal nature of Said's land documents.
"But, we still have no plans for the land," he said.
Bulganon charged that Sutiyoso's letter was a maneuver to hide the collusion between the park's management and city officials. (ind)