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Iron fence blocks main access to 200 households in Tangerang
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Residents of Tunas III lane in Sukajadi subdistrict, Tangerang, stand in front of a fence erected at the main entrance of their residential area due to a land dispute on April 10. (Tempo/Ayu Cipta)
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round 500 residents of Tunas III lane in Sukajadi, Karawaci, Tangerang, have lacked easy access to their own residential area for the past few months after Hertati Suliarta, the owner of the disputed plot of land on which they live, built a two-meter high iron fence that has blocked main access to around 200 households.
They reached out to the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday.
“The police and the [local] court had rejected us. The road closure is against the law,” said the residents’ spokesman, Arjuna Ginting Soka, as reported by tempo.co.
Hertati had built the fence after attempting to reclaim 6,965 square meters of the disputed land.
“We’ve been paying our property taxes since 1970 and we possess girik [customary land appointment certificate],” said Thio Lian Seng, 53, who has been living there since 1969.
He went on to explain that circa 2016, someone who claimed to be Hertati’s lawyer visited the neighborhood to show the local residents a copy of a land certificate that indicated the land was owned by Hertati.
“Most of us rejected it, some others gave up their land and received the compensation money,” Lian Seng said, adding that the Tunas residents have been struggling for months to conduct their daily activities as a result of the fence.
Sukajadi subdistrict head Mulyani suggested that neighborhood and community unit heads file a report to the subdistrict administration.
Hertati’s lawyer, Yoni, said Hertati had the right to build such a fence since the land belonged to her. (vla)
