Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Ministry of Defense on Tuesday said it would work with the Retired Military Soldiers Association to resolve the ongoing eviction dispute with families of veterans still occupying military housing complexes.

"Pepabri has a nationwide network, which could help us in settling this matter," Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsuddin said after a closed-door meeting with the group, referring to the association by its acronym.

"The need of active soldiers for housing must also be understood," he said, adding that the evictions were part of a presidential instruction to fulfill the military's needs for housing.

Pepabri chairman Agum Gumelar said his group would work with the government to help the families of veterans understand that, according to government regulation, state assets, including military houses, must be returned to the government after retirement.

The regulation has become a source of tension recently, with protests by residents of military housing complexes, many of whom are the families of retired soldiers, against attempts to evict them from their lodgings.

The latest incident took place last week in East Jakarta, where some 300 residents who built their homes on military land in Cililitan held a rally against a planned eviction by the Army.

The military has been carrying out these evictions at various locations around the country since 2004. The military has said that in many cases, the families of retired soldiers were no longer living in the housing complexes themselves but had either sold or leased the housing units to other civilians.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has claimed that the land disputes that have taken place between the military and civilians since 2004 have resulted in 14 human rights violations.

Although Agum said that there might be groups trying to politicize the cases, he declined to give names.

Reports have suggested that the Association of Army Retirees (PPAD) has been actively lobbying several national figures over the evictions.

Agum said that the association understood the government's position that the current housing complexes' inhabitants must leave so the houses can be occupied by active-duty military soldiers.

However, he added that in dealing with the disputes, Pepabri would continue to advocate for the rights of families of veterans across the country.

"Yesterday, we sent a letter to our branch offices in 32 provinces, ordering them to list members who are currently involved in such disputes with the government," Agum said. "This is so we know how to protect their rights."

The Army chief's deputy assistant of logistical affairs, Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua, revealed last week that the Army was at present only able to provide housing facilities for around 90,000 soldiers.

"That means almost 70 percent of the total number of soldiers, around 300,000, do not have housing," Zebua said. "Some of them are even forced to sleep in their offices."

Zebua, citing research conducted by the military, said that most soldiers were forced to pay between Rp 500,000 and Rp 600,0000 ($53 and $64) per month to rent their own accommodation.

The military is currently trying to reclaim some 35,500 houses around the country.

"It is very important [that the military provide proper housing] because the professionalism and loyalty of a soldier sometime can be influenced by the fulfillment of basic necessities," Zebua added.