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mid public outcry over the recent forced eviction in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, the Jakarta administration announced on Thursday that it would carry out more evictions in the near future to prepare the city for the 2018 Asian Games.

The administration has decided to ignore protests from human rights activists who condemned Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s eviction policy as both illegal and inhumane.

The governor said after Bukit Duri, he would conduct evictions in other areas, including the Krukut riverbank in Kemang, South Jakarta, which was recently hit by severe flooding.

Ahok, who seeks to extend his term in 2017, said he did not care about his election bid and vowed to carry out the evictions as soon as possible so that the administration could realize its vision of a “more welcoming Jakarta” in 2018, when the quadrennial sporting event is to take place in the capital.

“We want the river clean by 2018. I want people to see Jakarta as more welcoming with the Asian Games drawing near,” said Ahok at City Hall.

To realize the plan, he went on, the administration would likely relocate 50,000 families to low-cost rented apartments. Therefore, the governor expected the construction of 50,000 apartment units to be completed by 2018.

Ahok’s eviction policy, seen by many as ruthless and even illegal, has drawn rebuke from human rights activists.

On Thursday, activists from 70 civil organizations nationwide grouped under the moniker Gema Demokrasi (Democratic Resonance) expressed their solidarity with Bukit Duri evictees.

“We will stand together with the residents and support their decisions regarding the legal, social and political aspects of this case,” said Dhyta Caturani, a spokesperson of Gema Demokrasi in Bukit Duri.

The administration had disrespected the ongoing process in the Central Jakarta District Court and Jakarta State Administrative Court by going through with clearing the Bukit Duri residential area, she said.

The Bukit Duri eviction was carried out amid residents’ ongoing legal attempts to save their homes. A trial is ongoing after the residents filed a class-action lawsuit against the plan at the district court.

Dhyta urged the public to further examine the Jakarta administration’s eviction plan as she believed that flooding was not caused by settlements on riverbanks. Instead, it was caused by disorganized spatial planning in the city.

“The public should look at the situation fairly and not just buy the administration’s version of the story. The residents in Bukit Duri were blamed for flooding, but other factors have caused flooding,” she said, giving the example that the administration continued to issue permits for the construction of malls and high-rise buildings.