Kampung Pulo Eviction Continues in Check as Officials Eye Their Next Target
August 21, 2015 | 8:16 pm
Jakarta. City officials on Friday continued the second day of a week-long eviction process of a slum area in Jakarta without facing violent resistance from residents.
More than 2,300 officers from the Jakarta Police, Indonesian Military and public order agency (Satpol PP) beefed up security as eight excavators demolished some 500 houses in East Jakarta's flood-prone Kampung Pulo, where the disputed land is owned by the state and personal use on the area is strictly prohibited.
"We would optimize today's eviction and our target was to clear an area of as far as 1.9 kilometers from the [Ciliwung] river," Bambang Pangestu, chief of the neighboring Kampung Melayu village, said on Friday.
The situation was much more conducive compared to the first eviction day when 27 Kampung Pulo locals ̶ among them an 18-year-old boy ̶ were arrested for allegedly provoking a clash between residents and officers, prompting security forces to fire teargas and water cannons.
At least one man was heavily injured from Thursday's violent confrontation and was immediately evacuated by ambulance to Sint Carolus hospital in Salemba, Central Jakarta.
"The police and city government did negotiate [with the residents]. We still put forward persuasive efforts and urge the residents to cooperate," said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Mohammad Iqbal.
Separately, Jakarta Police chief Ins. Gen. Tito Karnavian expressed his regrets that officers had to forcefully evict Kampung Pulo residents and also of the clash that followed.
"As chief of Jakarta Police, I have the obligation to maintain public order while at the same time accommodate everything as according to the law," said Tito.
Tito also said that residents had requested officials not to demolish a cemetery and houses of worship, and also to prioritize those who had lived in the area all their lives.
East Jakarta Mayor Bambang Musyawardhana, who was notified of the eviction two months ago, guaranteed that they would not be demolished until his administration could provide new grave sites and mosques or settle matters with the families of the deceased.
"We will discuss the matter once we're done demolishing the houses," Bambang said, adding that the process would take a week,
Still, Tito warned residents that the city government would never meet demands for financial compensation to replace the funds they had spent building their homes.
A new home
Despite the sour resistance on Thursday, some Kampung Pulo residents were seen moving in to the low-cost apartment complex, locally known as rusun, the city administration had built in the nearby area of Jatinegara.
Sayid Ali, chief of a rusun areas in Jakarta, claimed that as of Friday afternoon, some 372 households had obtained keys to their units, compared to the 78 units that were occupied prior to the eviction.
Risa, 35, admitted that she had already registered for a unit in the apartment complex, which houses 520 rooms, but only decided to collect her keys on Thursday after the eviction.
"I tried to stay there [in Kampung Pulo], but when they started to destroy everything, I didn't have any choice [but to move out]," she told the Jakarta Globe.
Risa, whose house was just five meters away from Ciliwung river, which quickly becomes inundated even with very little rain, conceded that her new home is more livable.
Still, she had her concerns about sixth-floor apartment unit.
"The building is nice and clean," Risa said. "I'm just worried about having no bars on my windows. It's pretty dangerous if kids are playing around."
"The rusun in Jatinegara is especially built for Kampung Pulo residents. I can guarantee that everyone will be relocated there only," said Ika Lestari, head of the housing and building agency at the Jakarta administration.
Next eviction target
Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said he has already considered the eviction process for Bukit Duri, a slum area in Tebet, South Jakarta, as early as next week.
"We will only tear down houses that are located within 15 meters of the [Ciliwung] river," he said.
Basuki, better known by his nickname Ahok, said that Bukit Duri residents would also be relocated to city-owned apartment complexes in Jakarta, such as the one in Pulo Gebang.
"I hope that Bukit Duri residents would see the change in Kampung Pulo and they would move out voluntarily," Basuki says.
City officials aim to clear out 247 illegally built homes belonging to 379 families in Bukit Duri.
The houses are believed to have narrowed the Ciliwung river, triggering massive floods during the rainy season.
Basuki said that he would expand the river by six meters once the area is already cleared out.
Additional reporting from Carlos Paath & Deti Megi Purnamasari
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