[Kabar-indonesia] JP Editorial: Corporate Responsibility [+Kalla Vows Action on Mudflow]

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also: JP update: Kalla vows action on mudflow morass 

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Editorial

Corporate Responsibility 

Vice President Jusuf Kalla's visit Tuesday to the East Java town of Sidoarjo, 
where a toxic mudflow has inundated four villages over the last three weeks, 
shows the government's concern about this man-made disaster.

The most pressing need now is helping the more than 3,800 people who have 
been forced from their homes by the toxic mud. More than 900 people are suffering 
from breathing difficulties caused by hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbon gas, 
which can cause cancer with lengthy exposure. Experts also have warned that the 
mud contains unsafe levels of mercury. 

Other diseases resulting from poor sanitation and hygiene, which are common 
in evacuation camps, are another cause for concern, as well as the disrupted 
supplies of food, clean water and medicines. The government must ensure those 
caught up in this disaster have access to proper health care. 

Efforts to stem the mudflow will likely take months to complete, which means 
affected residents are facing lengthy stays in evacuation camps. Apart from 
disease, depression, stress and other mental problems among the displaced should 
be anticipated. 

Resettlement may be the most pragmatic option to protect residents from the 
dangers posed by the toxic mudflow, but this can only work on a volunteer 
basis. And residents will only agree to move if they receive appropriate 
compensation. 

Another urgent issue that must be addressed is the economic damage resulting 
from the disrupted traffic of goods on the affected Surabaya-Gempol turnpike, 
which has brought industry in Sidoarjo to a standstill. At least 13 factories 
in the town have been forced to suspend operations because the mud has 
affected the plants, resulting in lost wages for hundreds of workers. 

The disruption of railway traffic could be only a matter of time, with the 
mud oozing closer to the railroad track linking Surabaya, Malang and Banyuwangi. 

In view of the enormous economic and social losses inflicted by this 
incident, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on May 29 ordered a thorough 
investigation into the disaster. The hot mud eruption came from a leaking gas well being 
drilled by PT Lapindo Brantas Inc., which is partly owned by the family of 
Aburizal Bakrie, the coordinating minister for the people's welfare. 

Australian and Canadian mining and geological experts will assist Indonesian 
authorities in investigating the cause of the incident. 

Police have questioned at least 27 people, six of them Lapindo contractors, 
as witnesses in the case. Further questioning appears necessary following media 
reports of a letter written by officials at PT Medco Energy, another 
shareholder, to PT Lapindo's top executive, which blamed the leak on Lapindo's failure 
to comply with a pre-drilling agreement. 

Medco, according to the letter, reminded Lapindo during a technical meeting 
on May 18 of the agreed drilling procedures to prevent any leakage. 

While the letter, which was dated June 5, or a week after the incident, 
reveals nothing more than corporate infighting, the police investigation must 
determine whether the mudflow was the result of negligence or was simply a mishap. 
Whatever the results of the investigation, PT Lapindo and its shareholders 
must be held responsible for the mudflow and its impact on the people and the 
environment. 

The 1998 law on the environment allows settlements for companies that damage 
the environment to be reached through the legal process or out of court. 
However, it stipulates that companies must assume full responsibility for damages 
and losses caused by their operations, unless they can prove a third party was 
responsible. 

There have been previous cases, particularly in East Java, where oil and 
chemical companies went unpunished despite the damage caused to people and the 
environment by their work. 

If the uncompromising anticorruption drive mirrors the general state of law 
enforcement in the country today, there is hope that no more corporations or 
individuals implicated in natural disasters will be allowed to escape justice. 

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The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Kalla vows action on mudflow morass 

Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, 
The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo

The government ordered a gas exploration company Tuesday to promptly handle 
grievances and provide compensation to communities overrun by massive pollution 
from a gas well accident in Sidoarjo, East Java.

"This incident is a kind of fate that we have to face together," Vice 
President Jusuf Kalla said during a visit to an evacuee center in Porong district. 

"The government, in coordination with Lapindo Brantas Inc., will thoroughly 
settle the problems. The Bakrie family, in their capacity as the shareholders 
of the company, will have to be on the front line in (resolving) this problem." 

All losses affecting local residents, such as to their homes, from the 
mudflow would be borne by Lapindo Brantas, Kalla said, as well as compensating for 
the damage to a nearby turnpike, rice fields, schools and other public 
buildings from the May 29 accident. 

"Whatever the amount asked for, whether it is Rp 5 billion (US$533,049), Rp 
10 billion or more, Lapindo will pay it. So the residents should be calm.... 
don't forcibly break the dam again," the Vice President said, referring to the 
residents' effort to dismantle a dam to divert the mud away from their 
residences. 

"If the evacuees' houses were damaged, they should be temporarily 
accommodated at rented houses or other (places). I don't want to see my people sad." 

Nirwan Bakrie, in his capacity as a representative of the shareholders of 
Lapindo Brantas Inc., apologized for the incident and said the company was ready 
to provide compensation. 

"We did not intentionally engineer this calamity. We will thoroughly settle 
the mudflow problems as soon as possible," said Nirwan, a younger brother of 
Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie. 

In addressing local people from Siring village, Kalla did not discuss the 
health and environmental toll from the accident, both of which are increasing as 
the authorities have been unable to stem the deluge of mud. 

Two people were reported to have died after inhaling poisonous hydrogen 
sulfide gas from the site in Sidoarjo. 

They were identified as Mochammad Abdul Syukur Achiyar, 57, from Jatirejo 
village, and Suwoto, 70, from Reno Kenongo. 

The chief of police-run Bhayangkari Hospital, Comr. Hadi Wahyana, believed 
the men died from inhaling the gas, a diagnosis he said was based on data from 
their admittance to the hospital. 

"When they were admitted here initially, the two patients complained of 
shortness of breath after inhaling the putrid odor from the gas." 

Hadi said Suwoto had a history of respiratory problems, but appeared to have 
recovered from his respiratory problems after spending six days in the 
hospital. 

Abdul Syukur was referred to Sidoarjo General Hospital, which has more 
complete medical facilities, because of the seriousness of his condition, Hadi said. 

At least 812 people have been treated at Bhayangkari Hospital due to the 
inhalation of the toxic gas, with 76 requiring intensive care. "Now there are only 
16 of them, mostly children, left," Hadi said. Related photo on Page 2 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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