More talking needed: Urban observers

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Every year evictions are carried out in Jakarta in the same way they have been carried out for years.

As part of this process, the administration decides to clear an area and sends in public order officers and bulldozers to make sure residents and traders leave.

Most of the time the process is far from satisfactory, achieving none of the administration's desired results.

The Jakarta Post recently spoke with traders and residents who had experienced being evicted from two areas in the capital.

On Jl. Urip Sumoharjo in East Jakarta, vendors were blamed for causing constant traffic jams. Once they were evicted from the area, the traffic congestion eased slightly.

However, eventually many of the evicted residents decided to return to the area, remaining there until this day.

On Jl. Pancoran in Glodok, West Jakarta, an eviction a few years ago also proved to be a waste of time, with many vendors continuing to trade in the area.

Two urban observers also shared their opinions on evictions in Jakarta with the Post. Parwoto is a housing and community development specialist at the World Bank and Azas Tigor Nainggolan is the head of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta).

While Jakarta is constantly changing, the administration never seems to change its stance on forced evictions.

The city is still a long way from embracing participation when it comes to urban development, urban observers say.

Housing and community development specialist with the World Bank, Parwoto, said one of the administration's shortcomings was that it failed to ensure the quality of meetings.

He said the administration often invited people claiming to represent market traders to meetings, without involving the majority of traders in the decision-making process.

"The psychological aspect is important. Street vendors, for example, are seen as being clueless, so in meetings they are not encouraged to speak," Parwoto said.

He said among groups of traders there was usually an elite few who did not represent the interests of their peers.

Parwoto said in many cases, traders or squatters representing the majority could be "bought", after which they would agree on whatever the city or developers wanted.

However, he said even the participatory process of involving a group's representatives in the decision-making process was rare in the city.

"Last time I attended a meeting with city officials regarding urban development was in 2007. They still had the same perspectives about development," Parwoto said.

Separately, Azas Tigor Nainggolan, the head of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), spoke of similar experiences when dealing with city officials.

"At one stage there were a few mayors who were willing to talk to me. Fakta once spoke with an East Jakarta mayor about improving conditions for sidewalk vendors. The mayor said okay and told me to talk to his subordinates. But the subordinates could not understand what the mayor wanted them to do," Azas said.

Due to such misunderstandings, forced evictions occur again and again, he said.

Parwoto said urban development involved many complicated issues, especially when streets or riverbanks were being cleared. Consequently, the participatory process required skilled, independent facilitators to achieve the best results, he added.

"This process is faster than forced eviction as it draws less resistance," he said.

As an example, he cited a case in Surakarta, Central Java, where local authorities wanted to evict residents from 47 densely populated villages.

"We managed to get residents from one village involved in the participatory process. We held meetings and the residents were willing to take part in new plans for the area," Parwoto said.

Residents from the remaining 46 villages are still engaged in an ongoing conflict with the administration, he said.

"The participatory process takes time. But it is still often faster than forced eviction, especially when land prices are being negotiated. The process is also more sustainable," Parwoto said.