Jakarta – Students from several universities in Depok demonstrated at Pondok Cina station on Friday about plans to evict vendors from the station.

The students formed a human barricade in front of the kiosks, some of which have been in business for decades.

They squared off against dozens of police officers, soldiers and security guards from train operator PT Kereta Api who were on hand to evict the vendors.

"PT Kereta Api informally told the vendors to dismantle their kiosks on Dec. 28 and did not offer them a win-win solution. The same thing happened at the Depok Baru and Citayam stations," University of Indonesia student Azhar Nurun Ala said. "The evictions will only lead to an increase in the poverty rate."

PT Kereta Api Sugeng Priyono said that the vendors were to have been evicted to expand the train platform and the station's parking lots.

"We have no business with the vendors and the students. We leased part of the lot to a vendor, who rented it to other vendors. In the contract, the lease holder is required to dismantle the kiosks at any time," Sugeng said

PT Kereta Api would not stop the evictions and require its lease holder to fulfill the terms of the contract, he added.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has told the company to stop the evictions until the vendors find a new place to do business.