Why is eviction often problematic?

By Hayati Sari Hasibuan

This is the first of two articles on the issue of land clearance.

JAKARTA (JP): There is a new land-related phenomenon in this reform era. Evicted people, whose lands were cleared to make way for development projects in the city and surrounding areas, have pledged to take back vast tracts of their land. The taking over of land by formerly evicted people is becoming a growing trend. Many of them have either planted seeds, chopped down trees or dug up the land as a way to reclaim land they believe is theirs. They even have representation in a new organization called Evicted Victims Community. The organization intends to negotiate with the government for the return of their land.

Hasan Basri Durin, state minister of land affairs/chairman of the National Land Agency (BPN) in the Development and Reform Cabinet, once promised that there would be no more evictions because the act brought hardships to the displaced people. Is it too good to be true? Or was his statement a bid to woo reformists?

Involuntary displacement has been a companion of development throughout history and has become an indelible fact in the evolution of industrial as well as developing countries. Involuntary displacements continue to occur in all countries for reasons related to the betterment of living conditions, environmental infrastructure or expansion of public services. However, why have all of these development projects entailed displacements fraught with hardship and deprivation?

The problem of eviction is such an important issue that it is listed as an international agenda with relation to the enforcing of human rights. In the City Summit, United Nations Conference in Human Settlement II, Turkey, Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 1996, eviction was identified as a human rights violation.

The changes in economic structures, social dynamics and demographic situations breed development projects, in both the government and private sectors. Such development sometimes requires land clearance, which also means removing the people from the planned project area.

Some developments may be for public purposes or private purposes. According to the law, the government is justified in vacating land for projects which benefit the majority of people. Presidential decree No. 55 1993 cites the criteria for a public purpose project: 1. The project is done by the government. 2. The government owns the result of the project. 3. The project is nonprofit 4. The project includes one of the 14 types of development such as: road, dam, hospital, etc.

The number of evictions due to project development is high, especially in big cities. Both those with land titles and squatters have been subjected to eviction. In Jakarta, for instance, as the biggest city in this country, there were 32 land clearance cases from 1994 to mid-1997 which involved eviction. This means an average of 11 land clearance cases involving eviction each year in Jakarta. More than 19,000 families have been evicted in this period. That number is out of pending claims that remain unresolved.

A total of 60.5 percent of the people were displaced by private projects and 18.8 percent by government projects. From the development sector, 50 percent of cleared squatters' land was converted into green areas for the city's regreening program. Urban development and transportation programs were estimated to displace some 12.5 percent of the affected people. The rest was aimed at building social and commercial facilities.

If the displacement of people is accompanied by enforcement then it is called "involuntary displacement" or "eviction". And in such cases there is a policy problem which leaves people feeling coerced and threatened. The common problem with eviction is the issue of unfair compensation and human rights violations.

The writer is an urban and regional affairs observer who holds a masters of development degree from the Bandung Institute of Technology.