[Onthebarricades] Indonesian squatters/traders revolt against police, rout patrol

[Andy]

Officers caught in 'zero tolerance' backlash

Jakarta Post - January 27, 2007

Jakarta -- As the real estate sector has heated up, 
evictions carried out on "public order grounds" have 
become more and more routine.

Following a series of evictions in different North 
and West Jakarta over the last week, squatters and 
street traders feel so vulnerable that even the sight 
of public order officers can spark chaos.

The evictions culminated Friday in a brawl between 
street traders in Salemba, Central Jakarta, and 
public order officers. Antara reported the brawl 
started when street traders in the area saw four 
pick-up trucks filled with public order officers and 
thought they were going to be the next to go.

Traders started pelting stones at the passing 
vehicles, sparking anger from the officers who got 
out of their trucks to "rough up" the traders.

Local residents and college students in the area were 
seen in the crowd, supporting the traders. 
Outnumbered, the officers fled the scene, leaving 
behind a pick-up truck, which was later demolished by 
the angry crowd.

"This was only a misunderstanding. Traders were 
assuming they were going to be evicted as they saw 
the passing officers," said Taryo, one of the street 
traders in the area.

Kenari subdistrict head Prasetyo Kurniawan said the 
public order officers were heading to a settlement 
area on the Ciliwung River to carry out backyard 
poultry inspections.

The incident might be an indication of the ill-
feeling toward the authorities that has developed 
with the upsurge in evictions.

Hundreds of squatters living under the Rawabebek 
overpass in Kalijodo, North Jakarta, lost their homes 
Thursday when public order officers bulldozed their 
illegal settlement. They are now living in makeshift 
tents.

Earlier this week, vendors running stalls on a 3,500-
square-meter property belonging to the Indonesian 
Navy in Pedongkelan, North Jakarta, were relocated to 
a much smaller area.

The vendors said the relocation site provided by the 
city administration was not strategic and a third of 
the size of the previous site. Moreover, there was no 
legal documentation of the lease agreement or 
ownership deeds.
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