Seven excavators and one bulldozer were also deployed by the City Public Works Agency, while security teams erected three tents and were also equipped with a firetruck.

Workers faced some opposition from residents on day 1 when they started to tear down their properties. '€œWe are just anticipating [security requirements] for if yesterday'€™s clash is repeated today,'€ said Kukuh Hadi Santoso, head of the Jakarta City Public Order Agency as quoted by tribunnews.com.

A number of shops on Jl. Jatinegra Barat, the scene of the clash between security officers and Kampung Pulo residents on Thursday, were still closed on Friday. During Thursday'€™s protest, 27 residents were arrested, accused of encouraging others to carry out violent protest. One excavator was burned and eight people were injured.

East Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Umar Faruk promised that the security personnel would be less repressive in securing the eviction, but stressed that they would be on alert for any sign of violent protest, kompas.com reported.

Ati, a Kampung Pulo resident, said that she still could not accept that her house was among the hundreds being toppled down. She expressed concern that the eviction was marred by the clash between residents and security personnel.

'€œSince a long time ago, we have not had problems because the governor has respected us residents,'€ said Ati, who has lived in Neighborhood Unit (RT) 5/Community Unit (RW) 2 at Kampung Pulo since the 1960s. She also denied that her house is illegal because she pays land and property tax every year.

She said, when she started to reside in Kampung Pulo, the water of Ciliwung River was very clean and could be used for the daily needs of residents.

'€œIt'€™s sad to recall how hard it was to build the house,'€ she said.

However, the Jakarta city administration does not recognize the land and property ownership of Kampung Pulo residents. As a result, Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has stressed that the administration would not pay any compensation to the residents, whose houses were affected by a flood mitigation project.

'€œThey built their houses on state land illegally. Why should we compensate them? The city administration would even be justified in tearing down houses built illegally on private land,'€ the governor added. (bnn)

Popular

More jobs, less value: Indonesia’s labor efficiency gap

Indonesia condemns Israeli demolition of UNRWA buildings

Tourism industry warns year-end slowdown may spill into Idul Fitri