Villagers live 7 years under demolition threat

JAKARTA (JP): Forty-three Bali families have been living for seven years under the threat of having their homes demolished, because they are opposed to the building of a kindergarten in their temple grounds.

About 20 representatives of the families from Culik village, in the Karangasem regency, asked the National Commission on Human Rights here Monday to help stop the regency intimidating them.

They also asked the commission to use its influence to prevent the demolition of their homes pending a ruling from the Supreme Court, which now handles the case.

According to their lawyer, I Wayan Sudirta, the villagers have been "unfairly ostracized" from the rest of their community because they objected to the regent establishing a kindergarten in the yard of their village's sacred temple.

He said 19 families took refuge at the Bali provincial legislative council in Denpasar on Sunday after their houses were torched or attacked.

Sudirta, and three Bali Legal Aid Institute lawyers, told the commission that 21 attacks on the villagers' houses, by unidentified persons, have been recorded in the last two years.

"We've reported the vandalism to the police but up till now, there has been no response," Sudirta told commission member Mohammad Salim, who received the delegation.

At issue are the protests by some of the villagers since 1990 about the kindergarten project which has now been built within the sacred Pura (temple) Dasar Kerandan Culik compound, he said.

Sudirta said Karangasem regent, police Col. Ketut Mertha, ignored the protests and, apparently supported by the village customary council, went ahead with the project.

"The kindergarten has only 10 students because there were already several other kindergartens in the area," he said.

The building of the controversial kindergarten led to the destruction of 19 houses, he said.

"Those who have been cast out from Culik are still fighting to keep the land on which their families have lived for generations," Sudirta said.

Sudirta also told the commission the villagers had filed a civil lawsuit against the regent and the Tunas Kartini Foundation that manages the kindergarten.

"Predictably, we lost and we appealed to the Supreme Court. This is now pending (the decision)," he said.

Salim said the commission would send letters to the Minister of Home Affairs, the Karangasem regent, and the National Police Chief calling for a fair settlement. (aan)