REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has urged the government to cancel the Jakarta Bay reclamation project as it violates the rights of traditional fishing and coastal communities.

"The reclamation project has violated human rights such as the right to lead a peaceful, secure, happy, and prosperous life; the right to a good and healthy environment; the right to decent work; the right to stay; and the right to information," Wahyu Nandang Herawan, a staff member of the YLBHI, stated here on Sunday.

"If the Jakarta government goes ahead with the implementation of the reclamation project, it will violate human rights," the public lawyer of YLBHI remarked.

Wahyu remarked that the project led to structural imbalances between countries, corporations, and the people.

Through its policy, the Jakarta provincial government has used its powers to repress the traditional fishing and coastal communities.

"The corporations and local government are affecting the livelihood of the fishermen by closing all access. The structural imbalances caused law and human rights violations," Wahyu stated.

Traditional fishermen could suffer losses as their access to the sea is restricted.

Wahyu noted that the management of coastal areas should be guided by the principle of open access and common property.

"The community is free to enter the coastal areas and small islands. The fishermen also have the legal right to utilize, protect, manage, and prohibit outsiders from exploiting the property," Wahyu emphasized.

Earlier, Maritime Affairs and Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti had called on the Jakarta administration to halt the Jakarta Bay reclamation project until the developers met all necessary norms.

The reclamation was being carried out without any recommendation or taking in account the coastal area zoning regional regulations," the minister informed the press here Friday.

A reclamation project needs a recommendation from the Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry.

The Maritime Affairs and Fishery Ministry, the Environmental Affairs and Forestry Ministry, and the Jakarta Administration will hold a meeting to discuss the controversial project, Susi noted.

In addition, Jakarta senator Fahira Idris remarked that Jakarta residents had not received comprehensive information on the project to reclaim 17 islands for developing business centers and settlements.

Most of the information reaching the public only revealed that the reclamation was necessary and a noble deed to solve Jakarta's problems of land shortage, flooding, and coastal damage, she stated.

In fact, the project was more business-oriented than in tune with the public's interests, Fahira believed.

Therefore, the Jakarta senator had urged the residents to reject the reclamation project.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok earlier stated that President Joko Widodo had no objections to any reclamation project as long as it did not harm the environment.

"I think, in principle, the president, who himself has been a governor, sees nothing wrong with the reclamation project. All over the world, reclamation projects are being implemented. The president says that the important aspect is that it should not damage the environment," Ahok added.

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