That's how evictions go: We have a real governor

That's how evictions go: We have a real governor

Soeryo Winoto, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post

soeryo@thejakartapost.com

Observers may be fed up of criticism and comments on the
Jakarta administration's policy on forced evictions, given that
decision makers' persist, despite such negative analysis.

However, statements by Governor Sutiyoso defending his moves
regarding the evictions indeed deserve further commentary.

The governor was quoted by reporters (Kompas, Dec. 21) as
saying that the evictions were the most humane way to make
Jakarta free from slum areas.

To the insolent critics, he said, "Just teach me what being
humane is."

With his military background, the retired lieutenant general
Sutiyoso could have drilled his subordinates and staff on how to
combat and destroy the enemy. The administration's "humane" way
of removing slum residents and vendors from the public's sight,
he said, was the only way to maintain order in the city.

Everybody familiar with this teeming capital should certainly
take the time to contemplate these never-ending problems. Before
starting his first term in office as Jakarta governor, Sutiyoso
-- formerly chief of the Jakarta Military Command -- should have
been well informed about the chaotic condition of Jakarta, from A
to Z. With such a background, it would be expected that he make
significant steps toward dealing with slum areas, roadside
vendors and squatter communities at the very beginning of his
term.

This is why common people now question why he failed to make
appropriate policies to eliminate squatters, slum areas and
roadside vendors in the early stages. If he had been aware of
"the menace" of unauthorized residents' activities, he could have
stopped all such activities in the initial years of his tenure.
(The administration dubs the squatters and the eviction victims
as "unauthorized residents" for having no Jakarta ID cards.)

His statement that the evictions and demolitions are for the
sake of 10 million Jakarta residents could also spark criticism.
He said he cared about the whole Jakarta citizens, instead of
only 1,000 people. Does he mean that managing few people is much
easier than managing a larger number of people? Or does he mean
that the forceful evictions were carried out for the sake of the
interests of a larger population of the city?

If he means managing fewer people is easier, he is practically
right. But the question is also whether he has managed to control
his unscrupulous or corrupt subordinates, who have allowed the
illegal existence of slum areas, the growth of squatters'
communities and the increase of more and more roadside vendors.

Many roadside vendors have complained about officials who
always asked them for illegal levies. As we all know the "illegal
houses" that belong to squatters have electricity and tap water
as well as telephone lines. The owners had even paid property
taxes. These all were possible only with the role of the city's
unscrupulous officials.

If Sutiyoso thinks that demolitions and forced evictions are
in the interests of most of Jakarta's citizens, we have yet to
see a study revealing whether the majority of people here agree
with the demolitions.

No one will deny that people have no right whatsoever to
occupy or use a plot of land or property without first seeking
the owners' permission. It is clear then that law enforcement is
the main problem.

Sutiyoso started his first gubernatorial term in 1997 and his
ambition, supported by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, brought
him to the second term until 2007.

If Sutiyoso had been smart, and initiated integrated and
thorough plans since his first day in City Hall, the number of
people evicted, notably in the last four months, could have been
reduced.

With his persistence in demolition and eviction, Sutiyoso
seems intent on proving his theory that cure is better than
prevention.

In response to the above request, or challenge -- to teach the
governor how to deal with the problem humanely -- people may
assume that he is not aware of the basic human right of a citizen
to shelter. Thus forcing thousands of squatters or vendors to
leave an area they had occupied for years (even for generations),
without giving them another place to live, is a violation of
human rights.

The humane way to handle the squatters and roadside vendors
would be -- first things first -- to take appropriate action at
the time they started to occupy other people's property.

Forceful demolition is just a indication of the state of
frustration among City Hall's decision makers, who have always
failed to establish an integrated program, which includes housing
and employment for the residents -- whether or not they have
Jakarta ID cards with them.

And if Sutiyoso were sincere about his will to hear others'
views on being humane, he could have learned from people like
leading scholar and Jakarta resident Frans Magniz-Suseno, a
staunch critic against demolition and eviction. His many articles
have reiterated that the basic human rights of the demolitions'
victims should have been respected.