'We can't totally blame the evicted people'

Police and public order officers again swept through a neighborhood on Wednesday, evicting thousands of residents of Kampung Baru, Cengkareng, West Jakarta. About 1,500 houses built on land owned by state-run Perum Peumnas were destroyed, and 25 people were injured in clashes between the officers and residents. The Jakarta Post discussed the issue with several people.

Alvi, 29, works at a private company in South Jakarta. She lives in Tangerang with her family:

I think the city administration's efforts to evict people is a remnant of the New Order regime, where they used force against the poor.

The governor and officials are just showing off their power. Maybe the governor is proud to have the support of high-profile individuals who allow him to do anything.

I'm sure these evictions will only spark social unrest as the number of homeless people increases. I pity these people. Their already difficult lives just got worse. Their stress will accumulate like a time bomb.

It's only a matter of time before these people can no longer hold their feelings against the administration. Just wait and see the consequences of the actions of arrogant officials.

Solikhin, 17, works at a food stall in Salemba, Central Jakarta. He lives in Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta:

I feel sorry for the evicted people. They must be so distraught seeing their houses destroyed. Now they are homeless, penniless and hopeless. I'm sure they don't have anywhere to go.

I can't imagine if that happened to me. I would be so desperate and unsure how to go on with life.

I completely oppose these forcible evictions by the administration.

Those people are poor and just want a decent place to live as they try to survive in the capital. Home is a very precious place for them.

It would be a completely different story if the city administration provided the evicted people a place to live.

Trisno, 59, works for a marketing company and lives in Petukangan, South Jakarta, with his wife and daughter:

I don't think we can totally blame the evicted people. Most of them probably weren't aware they were living on someone else's land.

I'm sure they were only making use of a vacant plot of land. I still remember the government officially allowed the poor to use vacant land several years ago during the crisis, to help them survive.

The evicted people are not to blame. They were only using vacant land.

I think the city administration and the National Land Agency should be blamed because most of the residents had obtained land certificates, meaning they had gone through the legal process for buying land.

On what basis did the agency issue land certificate to those people? Well, everybody knows that there are many cases of multiple ownership of land certificates because money really matters.

Besides, I assume that the subdistrict chiefs where evictions take place also make money.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.