Wiranto agrees to meet with Koja Utara residents

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wiranto said yesterday that he wants to meet with residents involved in a land dispute in Koja Utara, North Jakarta, to hear their side of the story.

"I invite the residents to meet me as soon as possible. The sooner the better," he said, responding to their request for a meeting with higher authorities.

While Governor Surjadi Soedirdja has also asked for clarification, he would not comment on the possibility of his meeting with the Koja Utara residents.

He also refused to comment on the land dispute, saying the problem is being handled by the Jakarta branch of the Agency for the Coordination of Support for the Development of National Stability (Bakorstranasda).

"Bakorstranasda is handling the problem and the city administration is waiting for results," Surjadi said yesterday.

Wiranto said that the project on the 90-hectare plot of land would be conducted according to schedule and that the city military would safeguard the cargo terminal project.

Wiranto said recently that residents who obstructed the development of the project were considered criminals.

According to local residents, certain people, despite having received compensation, are still hanging around the site persuading the remaining residents to sell their houses.

"They are working for the compensation team established by the North Jakarta mayoralty and PT Pelindo II," said Mochdar Barga, one of the residents.

There have been many cases in which, due to fraud, losses were suffered by residents whose houses were sold, he added.

The land dispute began when PT Pelindo II and PT Humpuss announced last year that they would appropriate the land for a new cargo terminal project.

The company set the compensation rate between Rp 100,000 per square meter to Rp 150,000 per square meter, while the residents are asking for Rp 2,275,000 per square meter. The North Jakarta Mayor later, through a decree, set the compensation rate at Rp 100,000 per square meter to Rp 160,000 per square meter. (29/yns)