A

bout 100 protestors representing thousands of residents who have been evicted, or who expect to be evicted soon, grouped as the Victims of Jakarta Evictions Forum (FKPJ), staged a protest in front of City Hall on Monday, urging Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama to end evictions, involve them in future plans and to provide rightful compensation.

Gugun Muhammad of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) said during the rally that the evictions conducted by the city administration had traumatized low-income residents as their homes had been demolished without prior discussion or fair compensation.

'€œThe actions have violated our human rights,'€ he said, adding that in some areas evictions had been conducted violently.

A recent eviction of Kampung Pulo residents who lived on the banks of the Ciliwung River, for example, descended into chaos after city officials refused to open dialogue with residents and instead deployed Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers and police and military personnel to resolve the problem.

The incident led to dozens of people being injured and an excavator set ablaze in clashes between residents and the security personnel.

Gugun said the evictions not only make the poor poorer but also stigmatized the residents as squatters. He said the protestors who came to City Hall demanded negotiations with the city administration in the future.

The protestors represented evictees and those who expect to be evicted in 15 areas, comprising Ancol, Kamal Muara, Muara Baru and Papanggo in North Jakarta;
Bidaracina, Jatinegara Kaum, Kampung Pulo and Prumpung in East Jakarta; Kali Apuran, Kali Sekretaris, Pinangsia and Rusun Pesakih in West Jakarta; Bukit Duri and Rawajati in South Jakarta; and Rajawali Selatan in Central Jakarta.

Gugun said the forum urged the city administration to halt all kinds of evictions in Jakarta and to open a dialogue with residents over the plans as well as complying with Law No. 2/2012 and Presidential Regulation No. 71/2012 to provide fair compensation to the evictees. The regulations on land procurement for public need stipulate that residents, even those occupying state land, are entitled to compensation.

The city administration has intensified the clearance of river banks and reservoirs in the last two years.

Although the officials insist that they have publicized evictions beforehand, residents say the information is top down and leaves no space for negotiation.

Ahok has usually refused to pay compensation to evictees who do not have land certificates, saying that relocating them to low-cost rental apartments (rusunawa) is more than enough.

However, the city'€™s Housing and Administrative Buildings Agency has confirmed that they plan to evict about 12,000 families this year but are only providing about 5,000 housing units.

Agency head Ika Lestari Aji said the fate of the remaining 7,000 families would be up to the residents themselves and was not the responsibility of the city.

On Monday, Ahok declined to meet with the protesters.

Besides demanding fair treatment, the group also discussed other issues such as land reclamation, alleging that the city administration always acted in favor of the rich.

Enny Rochayati of the Jakarta Urban Poor Network (JRMK) asked why, if the city administration wanted to enforce its bylaws, it did not regulate houses and buildings in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK), which are built on former mangrove forests.

'€œYou kill our livelihood and raze our homes,'€ she said, adding that the city administration forced them to live in low-cost apartments similar to bird cages.