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AKUI - AKSI KEMANUSIAAN UNTUK INDONESIA HUMANITARIAN ACTION FOR INDONESIA Editors: Lea Pamungkas, Lily
Djojoatmodjo, and Evi Savitri Editorial Note
What does it mean to be
an Indonesian citizen? It means being treated like cattle at the yoke.
Exploited to our dying days in the name of a state we don't comprehend. And
if we happen to be poor as well, it means living with no opportunities. The
case of the inhabitants of Ciliwung River floodplain (Ciliwung River) is a
concrete example of what it means to be an Indonesian citizen. The people of Ciliwung
River floodplain have done all that they can to make their contributions as
responsible citizens: they have paid land and building taxes, retributions
and rubbish collections costs - even though thousands of others haven't even
thought about paying, and moreover have stolen state funds to their heart's
content. Yet they managed to put aside sufficient sums from their already meager
earnings. And their daily work is by no means unproductive: carrying clean
water to the inhabitants of the luxury housing complexes in the area, or
making brooms and feather dusters. In their inspiring creativity, they have
not demanded much from the state: their right to live, right to freedom,
right of ownership and right to live peacefully without being intimidated and
evicted. But the Indonesian
Government is ashamed of the conditions of the poor. They were evicted with
violence when they were living in a number of locations in the area around
the Soekarno-Hatta airport that services Jakarta. The Indonesian government
is ashamed at the prospect of tourists passing by, observing the haphazard
and impoverished state of its citizens. The eyes of the tourists
are considered more valuable than the lives of the poor. They who have never
demanded any of their rights from the state, such as a poverty eradication
programme, farming or fuel subsidies or small business credit, never mind a
housing scheme. The Indonesian Government has managed to entirely forget the
concept of 'autocriticism.' And that is why the government was so upset when
15 poor Jakarta residents took out a Class Action: suing the government over
its incompetence. They have even planned
a counter attack. The government argues that it is the poor themselves, the
inhabitants of Ciliwung River floodplain who are responsible for the floods.
In so doing the government is suppressing a number of other equally important
factors: the destruction of the environment by industrial zones, the
diversion of water to the luxury homes in Puncak, as well as the lack of an
integrated approach to preparedness which results in a tendency for
sectorally-limited and inefficient responses to flooding (for example the central
and local government programmes operate separately).
AFTHERMATH OF THE JAKARTA FLOODS: Introduction This time the floods
were of startling proportions, some areas were submerged under 3 metres of
water, and other areas that are normally not affected by the floods were also
hit. Jakarta, a city that never sleeps, was paralysed. Around 8.3 million of
its inhabitants became victim to the floods. Reports from the Ciliwung
Project (Sanggar Ciliwung) - a humanitarian organization which supports the
impoverished victims of the floods - indicate that by the second week of the
flooding, 36 people had died and that the number of people who had fallen ill
was too great to count. Loss and destruction of property was wide-spread and
loss of income due to inability to work was also significantly high, In
general the people feel they have suffered extensive losses, a matter which
was compounded by the delay in the government's response to the disaster. The Meteorology and
Geophysics Organisation had in fact already warned the government that there
was the likelihood of a major flood, but the warning was not given serious
consideration. For example the closing/opening of floodgates in a number of
strategic areas was delayed and dependent on a decision by the Governor and
the President. This is one of the reasons that the water levels in a number
of areas was allowed to reach such high levels, resulting in a number of
deaths. Steps which were
needed in order to anticipate flooding in Jakarta - a regular occurrence -
were not implemented. This is despite the fact that funding for the
anticipation of flooding is allocated yearly within the routine Provincial
Budget (APBD - Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah). The Urban Poor
Consortium (UPC) stated in a press release that the 2001 budget has allocated
around Rp. 250 billion for the development of water sources and the
prevention of flooding. "Where did the people's money disappear
to?" asked the UPC (Tempo Newspaper, 01/02). According to the UPC,
the budget included a programme to improve the quality of water in rivers
(Rp. 99.7 billion), build a proper drainage system for the city (Rp. 140
billion) and build environmental drainage (Rp. 9.8 billion). In actual fact
the drainage systems failed to accommodate the water overflow following days
of torrential rain. There was an inability to estimate the water level the
Ciliwung River might reach, for example, despite the fact that the character
and tendencies of the Ciliwung River are well known. Both at the time and
in the aftermath of the flooding, a wave of disappointment swept through the
people which was aimed in particular at government inability and apathy. This
was only compounded by the Governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso's comments at the
outset of the flooding. On the first and second day of the floods which had
already resulted in the forced eviction of 40,000 people from their homes,
Sutiyoso blithely announced that, "this is only routine flooding."
However, his "only" last just a few days, because he then went on
to state that, "the floods were due to a divergence of weather fronts
which resulted in a sudden increase in water level." Because of the reasons
given above, in the middle of March 15 inhabitants of Jakarta who were
victims of the flooding took out a Class Action. They represent all the
victims of the flooding (class representatives) and are suing the Indonesian
Government, namely the President of Indonesia, the Jakarta Provincial
Government, namely the Governor of Jakarta and the West Java Provincial
Government, namely the Governor of West Java. They stand accused of
acting in violation of the law, that is that they did not implement an Early
Warning System and an Emergency Response procedure in respect of the flooding
which as resulted in the already impoverished inhabitants of Jakarta
suffering further - some died, some lost their possessions and incomes and
some have succumbed to illness both during and ensuing the flooding period.
By June the Class Action trial had already received its seventh hearing. The People's Money
Disappeared
They complain that the
funds in question never made it to the victims who were affected by the
flooding. For example, in connection with the free medical treatment and
assistance in the form of rice which was allocated via the lurah, Kurniawan,
from Cikini Kecil, Central Jakarta, states that his father was asked to pay
Rp. 12,000 when he received treatement at the Kramat VII government health
clinic (Puskesmas). This is despite the fact that Governor Sutiyoso and the
Jakarta Health Department stated on a number of occasions that the local
government would provide free treatment to the victims of flooding (Kompas
Cyber Media,02/02) The same complaint is
heard in respect of assistance earmarked for the repair of housing due to the
flooding. The Jakarta local government allocated around Rp. 22 billion from
the total post-flooding rehabilitation fund of Rp. 251.828 billion. The funds
in question were taken from the 2002 local government budget and not from the
reserve funds that at the moment stand at around Rp. 506 billion. It is not
clear how this funding will be allocated. The head of Public Relations and
Protocol of the Jakarta local government, Muhayat, has stated that the
government will give assistance of as much as Rp. 200,000 per household which
has sustained flood-damage. This assistance is only for proper/officially
accounted for housing, and not for the slums/squatter housing located in the
floodplains. The assistance will be disbursed via the lurah. Based on
official data, of the 276 lurah in Jakarta, as many as 167 of them were
affected by the floods. It is strange however that the funds have already
been allocated notwithstanding the fact that the local government has as yet
no data in respect of the number of houses which have been damaged and which
will receive assistance. Moreover, data in respect of the cost of the total
damage is not yet available. Yet, appearing in front of local government
assembly Commission II, Governor Sutiyoso stated that the estimated cost of
the damage would be made public as soon as the floods had subsided.
(KCM,02/02). But hopes are no more
than hopes. According to statements by a number of inhabitants, assistance
for renovations has not yet (will not) materialized. They acknowledge that
there is a list of inhabitants whose houses have sustained damage that is
being held by the local administration, but the criteria to get onto that
list are not clear. "Houses in good condition are also on that list.
What's the point of getting on the list if we won't get anything even though
our homes are in ruins," stated Yanti (25), an inhabitants of Kampung
Melayu Kecil (KCM,02/02) Distorting the Facts
Relating to Underlying Causes Various arguments and
analysis of how such a disastrous flood could occur have been made. Aside
from the matter of the conditions of the Ciliwung River floodplain, another
reason often mentioned is the interference with the conservation area in
Puncak (Bogor, West Java), the location of the source of the Ciliwung River,
by the mushrooming luxury housing complexes that have been built without a
license (IMB, ijin mendirikan bangunan). The blocking up of the
source of the river and water conservation areas by these villas has resulted
in the Ciliwung River being unable to hold water, with the result that it
sends excessive flood water down to Jakarta which is located at a much lower
level. The irony is that many of the owners of these villas are Jakartans, and
moreover the names of a number of dignitaries and generals have been
mentioned, for example the Governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso, who has been proven
to have owned a villa built without a license, as well as the former
Commander of the Land Forces (Pangkostrad), Djaja Suparman, the former
Minister of Defense, and Military Commander Wiranto. The list includes
members of parliament such as Moerdiono, Amirul Isnaini and haris Sudarno
(Kompas dan Media Indonesia,26/2). The Vice President Hamzah Haz also has a villa
there (Tempo,25/2). Sutiyoso eventually
pulled down his 1 ha villa. This is ironic because initially it was Sutiyoso
himself who was pointing the finger at the unlicensed villas in Puncak as the
cause of the flooding. Yet to date thousands of villas are still located in
that area. The Bogor local government only insists that the villa owners dig
their own well for reserve water in the location of their land. But the government has
found itself a new bogie man to blame who is far more appropriate than the
luxury villas. Namely the inhabitants of the Ciliwung River floodplain.
According to the Minister for Housing and Regional Infrastructure, Dr
Soenarno, the reason for the floods in Jakarta is that the capacity of the
river which is not able to hold the water flow which runs through it. And the
reason for the fall in the water capacity is the mushrooming of buildings in
the floodplain. Moreover, both government regulations and regional
regulations do not allow for building on the floodplain. However the facts
are that there are around 30,000 households living there. (Tempo,3/3). Because of this
statement, now people who do not live on the floodplain are blaming the
floods on those who do live there. Because of this accusation, the reasons
for the flood have become a 'collective sin' which resulted in the class
action by the people of Jakarta. Yet aside from the inhabitants of the
Ciliwung River floodplain, there are many other factors which have not been
mentioned and acted upon by the government, for example the data which has
been mentioned by Romo Sandyawan Sumardi from the Ciliwung Project, namely
that the reduction in the 'water parking' area in undeveloped areas which
once acted as a water parking area, have been developed into housing
complexes, shopping malls, offices and the like such as has occurred in
Pantai Indah Kapuk, Cempaka Mas, Kelapa Gading, Sunter etc. The government
hasn't taken any action against the elite complexes, hotels, express have a
role in causing the floods. Whereas the simple housing in the floodplain of
the Ciliwung River have in effect been rendered legal by the State in the
form of receiving payment for land and building tax, provision of
electricity, phone lines and water in this location. Dealing with the
Ciliwung River floodplain Inhabitants. The government has
been planning to create order and relocate and repatriate the inhabitants of
the floodplain. In order to do so it has developed a three-option programme:
first, improving the housing along the river banks by building blocks of
flats for rent; second, building twin-block housing complexes outside of the
floodplain area for rental; three, building flats for rental on the river. According to Katrin,
the Public Relations Officer for the Department of Housing and Regional Infrastructure,
this department will obtain funds for building from the State Budged (APBN -
Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Negara) as well as assistance from the Dutch
government, namely the Minstry for Housing and the Environment (MVROM) and
the ministry of Transport and Water (MV&W) in the form of US$ 10 million.
Appropriate relocation areas have yet to be identified, but the blocks of
flats in the Manggarai and Cipinang area serve as an example of what is
intended. "The local inhabitants will be able to buy these flats in
daily installments," said Katrin. (Media Indonesia,20/2).
Aside from this plan,
the central government will build the East Canal Dam. Funding of as much as
Rp. 18.20 trillion taken from the APBN will be provided for this enormous
project, which includes other projects which aim to stem the flooding in the
Jakarta-Bogor- Tanggerang-Bekasi area (Jabotabek). The building of this canal
will complement the existing West Canal system. If the two systems function,
then 13 rivers which once flowed in the direction of Jakarta will be diverted
directly to the sea, avoiding the capital city. The West Canal Dam was built
during the period of Dutch colonialism. This system was based on the design
of Prof Ir Van Breen in order to divert the flow of the Ciliwung, Krukut and
Baru Barat Rivers. The East Canal Dam is intended to be 23 Km long and 100
metres wide, which includes 36 metres for an inspection road. The East Canal
Dam will divert the flow of the Cipinang, Sunter, Buaran, Jati Kramat and
Cakung Rivers. Needless to say,
efforts to build the East Canal Dam will face a number of serious problems,
including the massive burden of payment for land compensation. According to
the Head of Public Works for Jakarta, IGK Suena, compensation for land will
cost around Rp. 1.6 billion. This means that the total cost of building the
East Canal Dam will be in the region of Rp. 3 trillion. The East Canal Dam
project began at the beginning of June this year. The government will
continue its plans to build a canal and to normalise the Cisadane River. This
canal will allow for excessive water from the Ciliwung River to be diverted
into the Cisadane River. At present, the cost of building the canal has been
agreed to with the assistance of 14 million Yen from the Japanese government. Inhabitants of the
Ciliwung River Floodplain Evicted With No Clear Relocation Plan The government is
planning to relocate the inhabitants of the Ciliwung River Floodplain as
quickly as possible. The Governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso, has stated that the
Jakarta government will not be able to relocate the inhabitants of the
Ciliwung River floodplain on its own. Thus, the problem will be passed on to
the Minister for Housing and Regional Infrastructure. And according to the
plan, the government must complete the building of the housing in question by
the end of 2002. However, to date the question of where 'tens of thousands of
people will be relocated,' is still in question. The Head of the
Regional Planning and Development Body (Bappeda), Ritola Tasmaya, has
admitted not knowing exactly what preparations have already been made by the
Minister for Housing and Regional Infrastructure in the matter of this
relocation. However, he added that locations for the building of housing have
already been provided by local government. "The first stage will take
place this year. The Ministry of Housing and Regional Infrastructure will
build 3,000 of the 30,000 houses that will be built. The budget involved is
estimated at around Rp. 60 million," he said whilst refusing to identify
the location in question together with a number of other questions in respect
of housing provisions for the inhabitants of the Ciliwung River floodplain
(Media Indonesia, 22/04). In the meantime, the Minister of State for the
Environment, Nabiel Makarim, has only stated that the will look for land
suitable as a relocation site. "For example, land which is under the
BPPN (Badan Penyehatan Perbankan Nasional). Another alternative is that they
will be relocated to land owned by the government that is being held by the
BPPN. However news that the
inhabitants of the Ciliwung River floodplain will be relocated to land under
the BPPN is considered unrealistic and no more than rhetoric that will be hard
to implement in practice. An expert in property development, Panangian
Simanungkalit, stated that land under the administration of the BPPN is the
property of developers who are still in the process of restructuring. He
added that he was also not convinced that the area in question would be
sufficient for the relocation of all the inhabitants of the floodplain. In
addition, in order to obtain the land there would have to be serious efforts
by the Jakarta provincial government and the local parliament. Hundreds of
hectares, he said, is land for social projects of public works which has been
appropriated by the developers. Conditions of the
Inhabitants of the Ciliwung River Floodplain
Under such conditions,
the inhabitants of the river floodplain tend not to be able to provide their
own individual or communal sanitation provisions. As a result, the largest
number use the river for their needs, including washing, cleaning and as a
latrine as well as a place to throw their rubbish. This has clear
implications for the health of the inhabitants, who are prone to illness,
particularly of the digestive system and of the skin. Post-floods, the
Jakarta government has increased its efforts to evict the inhabitants. The
government has a never-ending list of excuses that it rolls out in order to
justify its actions. From the excuse that the inhabitants are no more than
seasonal migrants who are sources of crime, to accusing them of being the
roots cause of the recent floods. The most upsetting is that they are being
evicted because they are 'illegal occupants,' because they don't have Jakarta
ID cards, which means that they have no right to live in Jakarta. Referring to such
statements, Tarjo, an inhabitants of Balekambang, Codet, Jakarta says that he
feels that he is being treated unjustly, "we pay taxes here, the rubbish
collection fees, security fees, it's easy to blame us like this." Tarjo
is not concerned with the Jakarta government's claim that 95% of the floodplain
land belongs to the state. He challenges the government to prove its claim
with land ownership papers. "We live here because we bought the land,
not just because we came and occupied it," said Tarjo who has lived on
the Ciliwung River floodplain for almost 25 years of his life (Tempo
Newspaper,10/4). Eviction Methods:
Arson, Violence, Intimidation, This 'orderliness'
programme often uses force, and there is no process of dialogue between the
inhabitants and the local government. Law enforcement agents arrive with a
final reminder and destruction order. Often the letters never reach the
inhabitants in question. Often they used people who they claim represent the
inhabitants, who are paid to influence other inhabitants in order to accept
compensation offered by the government without any due process (even though
the sum offered is way short of what is considered acceptable). Or else they
send in hired thugs in the name of the local inhabitants to evict the
incomers who are accused of ruining the view because of their impoverished
conditions. The local government is embarrassed to have a such a slum area so
visible from the freeway which heads towards the airport (Kompas,10/2001),
but gives no thought as to how to eradicate poverty - they only think up ways
of evicting the inhabitants by whatever means necessary. Steps to evict the
inhabitants have intensified over the last year. Since August 2001, according
to Romo Sandyawan Sumardi, the head of the Ciliwung Project, quoting from
data obtained from the Anti-Eviction Network (Jaringan Anti Penggusuran,
which includes the Jakarta Social Institute - Institut Sosial Jakarta; the
Jakarta Socialist Youth - Pemuda Sosialis Jakarta; Jakarta Legal Aid
Foundation - Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Jakarta; Jakarta Inhabitants Forum - Forum
Warga Kota Jakarta; Pijar; Volunteer Team for Humanity - Tim Relawan untuk
Kemanusiaan Internasional NGO's Forum on Indonesian Development and UPC),
throughout 2001 as many as 48,870 people have become the victims of forced
evictions in Jakarta. Of that total, as many as 29,322 are women and
children. This figure swells further if you include the victims of the
rounding up of rickshaw drivers programme, which includes 24,000 people and
the 12,000 small traders who have been evicted (Sandyawan Sumardi,
"Ruang Sisa"). Many sections of
society and organisations have for some time now already registered their
protest over these arbitrary actions. During discussions between the Jakarta
local government and the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas
HAM), agreed to a moratorium on the problem in question. However this
agreement has been violated by the local government. The agreement was less
than 100 days' old when on 7 January 2002, evictions began to take place once
again in the Canal Dam area (Sandyawan Sumardi, Ruang Sisa). Relocation of the
Inhabitants of the Ciliwung River Floodplain: Empty Promises? Plans for an
integrated management of housing and the Ciliwung River as implemented by the
Department for Housing and Regional Infrastructure in collaboration with two
Dutch ministries, namely the Ministry for Housing and the Environment (MVROM)
and the Ministry for Transport and Water is seriously questioned in a number
of quarters. Particularly if seen from the context of the number of arbitrary
actions which are being perpetrated by the government against the poor.
Another excuse is regional autonomy, where this programme becomes no more
than a slanging match between the central and local governments involved
(Jakarta local government, West Java local government and Banten local
government). Or conversely becomes a forum for 'sharing the spoils,' between
local government officials. In this context the inhabitants in question
become no more than observers. The Anti-Eviction Network notes that many
arbitrary incidents have taken place within the context of these programmes,
such as speaking in the name of the people in the interests of the programme.
Compensation which has
been offered to certain people is very small, and certainly not sufficient to
enable the inhabitants to pay rent never mind buy the flats in this area.
Aside from the rental costs, the lives of the inhabitants would also be made
more difficult because it will be harder for them to carry out their economic
activities from blocks of flats, for example handicrafts, tailoring,
slaughtering of chickens, selling food etc. This is because they need more
space as well as being more accessible to their potential customers than
living in a block of flats allows. For these reasons it is not economically
viable for them to live in apartment blocks, with limited facilities and
expensive rent (within the context of their economic limitations). The sequence of events
which are currently taking place in Jakarta indicate quite clearly that what
the government is doing is an effort to 'clean up' they city of its poor
inhabitants in their legal settlements. By throwing them onto the streets,
the government is blocking off any hope they have to a life. AKUI- Aksi Kemanusiaan untuk Indonesia Humanitarian Action For Indonesia Postbank : 741548 Kvk. 3410743 Address: Indonesia House Jacob van Lennepkade 255, 1054
ZS Amsterdam, Tel.:
020-7774949, Fax: 020-7774948 E-mail : akui@xs4all.nl Stichting TitanE |