(Jakarta, September 6, 2006) – The Jakarta regional government has been forcibly evicting tens of thousands of the capital’s urban poor from their homes, often leaving them homeless and destitute, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

The 115-page report, “Condemned Communities: Forced Evictions in Jakarta,” describes the government’s excessive use of force to clear out urban slums. It draws on numerous evictees’ accounts of government security forces beating or mistreating them before destroying their homes and possessions. Many residents say they were given so little warning before their homes were razed that they did not have enough time to collect their belongings. Others describe how security forces opened fire on communities and set buildings alight while people were still inside.

You can read the entire story here:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/09/06/indone14111.htm