No Deal Reached between Kampung Akuarium Residents, Jakarta Govt

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mediation efforts between Kampung Akuarium residents and Jakarta administration have not come to fruition. The residents have insisted on staying in the area, whereas the government is determined to turn it into a maritime and religious tourist attraction. “We have failed to reach an agreement,” a representative of Kampung Akuarium residents Darmariani said yesterday, May 4.

Darmariani explained that Wednesday saw the third meeting in the mediation process. The residents and the local government had earlier sought an out-of-court settlement and failed to achieve it.

The mediation process was ordered by the court following class action lawsuits filed by two groups of the residents in November last year with the assistance of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Jakarta. “The first group consists of 351 building owners and the second group consists of 69 tenants,” he said.

In the lawsuit, Kampung Akuarium residents demanded Jakarta administration be responsible for the buildings destroyed in eviction last year. The residents view that the local government has broken the law for carrying out eviction without discussing it with the residents. They are claiming damages following the destruction of the buildings they had occupied for years.

Acting in defiance of the eviction, the residents have returned to the area. Dozens of squatter settlements have been built. They refused to move to low-cost apartments in Marunda and Rawa Bebek despite Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama’s ultimatum saying that he would evict the residents again.

Kampung Akuarium residents lawyer Matthew Michelle has asked the administration to suspend the eviction, citing pending class action lawsuits. “We expect a revamp of the area to be occupied by residents. We expect the government to respect the ongoing legal proceedings,” he said.

Jakarta administration legal bureau head Yayan Yuhanah explained that the administration rejects the claims filed by Kampung Akuarium residents in the mediation process. He reasoned that the administration has other plans.

He said that squatter settlements are getting in the way of plans to turn the area into a marine tourist attraction. “The land belongs to the administration,”

Yayan believes that Jakarta administration has not broken the law in the eviction.

IRSYAN HASYIM