Governor Soekarwo said earlier this week the decision was made following a deadlock between the administration and landowner regarding their rental fee. He also said the families concerned had refused relocation.

"We have provided compensation to help the families look for new places to live, and to start new businesses," he said.

The number of evicted families has risen from 69, according to data collected from a May 4 eviction, to 369. This means the provincial administration will need to provide a total of Rp 1.85 billion to the families.

The governor said that a previous agreement stated families must leave the riverbanks on Oct. 5, 2009.

The families will also be paid their compensation on this date, and have been ordered to dismantle their shelters with aid from public order officers.

The provincial assistant overseeing people's welfare, Akmal Boedianto, said the policy was implemented to protect the families' safety during the wet season. "Evictees will be in danger if they do not leave," he said.

The provincial administration previously offered alternative locations for evictees, including relocating them to an area near Mangga Dua, and also to subsidized apartments in Wonorejo and Randu. The families reportedly turned the offer down.

Now the evictees say they will refuse the compensation and are demanding a permanent relocation as previously promised by the administration. "We will not leave the riverbanks by Oct. 5," chairwoman of the Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), Erma Susanti, said.

She added the evictees would demand the governor fulfill the initial agreement, namely, providing makeshift tents until the proposed areas are ready for occupation, and involving residents in the process.

The Surabaya municipal administration evicted dozens of buildings along the riverbanks it considered illegal. Some evictees, however, argued they lived there legally as they possessed building permits and paid property tax.

The families also insisted evicting them was not in line with a provincial bylaw on managing the Surabaya and Wonokromo riverbanks, which states that structures cannot be built between 3 and 5 meters from the river.

They claimed their structures were located at least 7 meters away.

Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) member, Safruddin Ngulma Simeuleu, said the administration had the right to manage its people, but it should be mindful about the way it operates.

"Now families have been evicted, the administration is obliged to provide them with another place to live, or communicate with them to reach a compromise," he said.

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