Around one hundred public order officials and a handful of police officers arrived at a site on Cakung Cilincing Road in East Jakarta on the morning of September 15, 2005. Using machetes, cables, and bulldozers, the public order officials destroyed twenty-seven homes. Although many of the 126 residents had lived on the land for more than a decade, the land was claimed by a group of private developers who claimed ownership of the land. The first eviction letter received by the residents came from an ethnic Betawi militia rather than the government, although the East Jakarta mayor later sent additional eviction intimidated by thugs into accepting the coletters as well.Residents have been paid compensation ranging from Rp. 3 million to Rp. 10 million (US$300 - US$990), although residents claim they were mpensation. Uniformed members of the Forum Betawi Rempung gang later fenced the land.

Back