The Jakarta regional government has been using excessive force to clear out urban slums in the nation’s capital, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch released in September 2006. This report states that government security forces, with the aid of ‘untrained and unaccountable gangs,’ have been beating and mistreating victims and destroying their homes with little or no prior warning. The report also claims that security forces ‘opened fire on communities and set buildings alight while people were still inside.’
The Jakarta government justifies these evictions, claiming that it is trying to maintain ‘public order, remove trespassers from private or state land, or clear land for infrastructure projects.’ At the same time, however, the government has failed to provide alternative housing options and assistance for these victims, effectively consigning them to a life of abject poverty on the streets of Jakarta.
Perversely, however, the government’s efforts have done little to maintain ‘public order’ and have effectively transferred the problem to another part of the city and succeeded in stirring up public unrest.
Yet again, Indonesia continues to flout national and international law, and fails to live up to its international commitments as it continues to aggressively pursue international investors with little or no regard for human rights (hrw.org).
