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Though the residents of illegal settlements at Kampung Pulo, Jatinegara, East Jakarta don’t legally own the land they inhabit, they put up a fight as authorities came to forcefully evict them this morning.
There have been reports that hundreds of residents tried to deny authorities access into Kampung Pulo. Some even pelted rocks and firecrackers at the police and heavy equipment. The scene quickly turned into an all out riot as rioters managed to set fire to a backhoe.
More than 2,000 officers from the police and the army were deployed to evict 520 families from Kampung Pulo and deal with rioters. Authorities also used tear gas and water cannon tanks to gain control of the escalating riot.
There hasn’t yet been an official count of casualties on both sides of the conflict.
Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama justified his decision to carry out the forced eviction.
“We told them we can’t compensate them [financially to move out], so we built apartments for them, that’s it. But they’re adamant they want the apartments and money. They’re always like this, so we decided to go ahead and evict them,” Ahok said at City Hall today, as quoted by Okezone.
“Logically, [the illegal settlers] built houses on top of state-owned land. If they demand compensation, and I give it to them, wouldn’t I get arrested? That’s the logic.”
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