T

he number of victims of human rights violations in Jakarta grew threefold by August this year from two years previously, mostly as a result of forced evictions by the city administration, according to a report by the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) released Wednesday.

'€œThere were fewer cases this year, but they involved a greater number of victims,'€ said Alldo Fellix Januardy, a public lawyer for urban issues from LBH Jakarta.

LBH Jakarta'€™s report on human rights violations regarding urban issues showed that during the period from 2011 to 2015, the number of victims of rights violations in Jakarta was highest this year following forced evictions by the city.

LBH Jakarta had, Alldo said, recorded 103 cases of human rights violations linked to urban issues as of August this year. The violations involved 20,784 residents being deprived of basic rights such as housing, livelihood and freedom of expression.

The legal institute recorded 74 cases and 2,130 victims in 2011; 61 cases and 14,942 victims in 2012; 90 cases and 6,695 victims in 2013; and 114 cases and 6,989 victims in 2014.

The large number of victims this was mostly a result of forced evictions in 30 sites, including Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta and Pinangsia in West Jakarta, according to Alldo.

In 2012, which had the period'€™s second-highest number of victims, most violations were similarly related to evictions under then governor Fauzi Bowo, Alldo went on, adding that forced evictions had this year caused 3,433 families to lose their homes and 433 business owners their businesses.

The average low-income family comprises five members, and sometimes includes members of extended families.

Alldo explained that rights violations were concentrated in East Jakarta, where the city administration had evicted 1,680 families and 40 businesses. North Jakarta took second place, with the city administration forcing 1,343 families to leave their houses and 52 business owners to lose their businesses.

He noted that under Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama, the authorities had failed to engage with the residents concerned before evicting them.

'€œUnlike under the leadership of former governor Joko '€˜Jokowi'€™ Widodo, the city administration failed to talk to the residents. As a result, they applied a blanket policy to all eviction victims regardless of their socio-cultural backgrounds,'€ he said.

According to Alldo, under Jokowi, the city administration ensured that evictees were properly compensated.

Commenting on his plan to evict the residents of Kampung Pulo in August, Ahok said that he would gladly kill 2,000 people for the sake of 10 million Jakartans. His remarks drew bitter criticism from human rights campaigners.

The city administration had also, Alldo said, violated residents'€™ rights by bringing in unrelated officers to enforce the evictions, including members of the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI), with a number of evictees falling victim to physical violence.

The report also showed that the city administration was the year'€™s most prolific violator of human rights, with 21 cases perpetrated by the administration, followed by the central government and private parties with three cases each.

Ahok responded coolly to the report, which concluded that Jakarta was '€œnot a human rights-friendly city'€, saying the forced evictions were the right thing to do as the evictees had '€œstolen the city'€™s money'€. (agn)