Kinanti Pinta Karana – Some 300 residents of Eks Yon Angkub Military Housing Complex in Cililitan Besar, East Jakarta protested against a planned eviction on Monday. The residents blocked the entrance to the compound with burning tires and erected a stage for music and speeches.

The residents began rallying at 8 a.m., wearing black outfits with red ribbons on their left arms. One of the protesters, Paul, told The Jakarta Globe that their lawyers had arrived along with officials from the National Committee for Human Rights.

"We hired the lawyers by ourselves. We are ready; we heard the military is sending 150 soldiers to conduct the eviction. They're on the way," said Paul.

Another protester said the residents built their own houses on the military property in the 1960s, including installing electricity, telephone lines and water.

"We moved here because our old houses in Gambir was taken over by the government for the National Monument project. We looked for a vacant lot in Cililitan. When we first moved here in the 60's, there was nothing but horse stables. We built everything from scratch," said Sutrisno.

The residents say they are mostly retired members of the military or their children. They received eviction notices in October. The protest caused traffic delays from Halim Perdanakusumah Airstrip to Cililitan and Kramat Jati.