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Bukit Duri eviction declared ‘illegal’
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In dispute -- Construction activities to normalize the Ciliwung River take place near the Bukit Duri bridge, Jakarta, on Jan.3. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
T
he panel of judges at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) has granted the lawsuit filed by Bukit Duri residents against an eviction notice issued by Tebet district head Mahludin, declaring that the eviction violated the law.
Bukit Duri resident lawyer Vera Soemarwi said on Thursday that the court had declared that the eviction, conducted as part of the Ciliwung River normalization program in September and October, was illegal.
She further said that the panel of judges had ordered the Jakarta administration to revoke the eviction notice because it was against the law and unprofessional.
Vera said it was also stated in the court’s ruling that the Bukit Duri eviction was conducted without proper procedures as mandated by Law No 2/2012 on land procurement for public needs.
The procedures include data collection and identification processes of land ownership, she added.
“The city administration is obliged to give compensation to the evictees because they have owned their land for generations, since the 1920s,”Vera said.
She further explained that Bukit Duri residents had evidence of land ownership in various forms, ranging from land certificates to girik (customary land appointments) letters, verbonding, purchase agreements, building use permits (HGB) to building ownership statements.
In September, hundreds of families were evicted from Bukit Duri despite legal proceedings in court. Besides submitting a lawsuit at the PTUN, the residents have also filed a class action lawsuit at the Central Jakarta Court against the eviction. The trial is still ongoing. (ebf)
