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LBH Jakarta to assist Dadap residents after clash
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Residents of Dadap blockade the road leading to their residential areas on Tuesday after workers, escorted by security officers, set about demolishing their properties in the area.
( kompas.com/Andri Donnal Putera)
R
esidents of Dadap in Tangerang regency, Banten, have appointed lawyers from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) to represent them in possible legal battles against the local administration following their forcible eviction on Tuesday.
Like Kalijodo in North Jakarta, an area earlier demolished by the Jakarta administration, Dadap is also known as a red-light district. Many sex workers from Kalijodo reportedly moved to Dadap after Kalijodo’s closure.
“Yes, we will accompany the residents of Dadap. We will try to find an out-of-court solution such as that suggested by the National Commission on Human Rights,” said LBH Jakarta lawyer Tigor Hutapea as reported by kompas.com on Thursday.
LBH Jakarta may take legal action against the local government if the residents wish to do so. Tigor said he would discuss the matter with the residents.
The residents of Dadap have argued that the eviction will not only affect those operating in the red-light district, but also those living in regular residential areas. Tangerang Regent Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, however, has promised not to evict residents living in Dadap’s standard residential areas.
The residents are disappointed because Ahmed has been reluctant to meet with them to discuss the eviction plan. “We visited the regent’s office in early May. The regent promised to meet with us. But we cannot meet with the regent. We only met the secretary,” said Aldy, chairman of a local youth forum.
Armed with various sharp weapons, Dadap residents clashed with security officers on Tuesday when the local government tried to evict them from the area. The clashes occurred in the morning and took place again in the afternoon.
They threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at security officers, who escorted the workers demolishing the properties in the area. In response, the security officers shot tear gas to disperse the crowd, made up of hundreds of people. (bbn)
