[Kabar-indonesia] Mudflow victims accuse Lapindo of breaking promises

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post
Thursday, November 2, 2006

Mudflow victims accuse Lapindo of breaking promises

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo

Residents of Jatirejo village in Sidoarjo, East Java, took
to the streets Wednesday after a monthlong break for
Ramadhan, accusing Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company blamed
for the mudflow disaster, of failing to meet its promises to
compensate victims whose properties have been engulfed by
the mud.

The protest, involving hundreds of residents, took place
near one of the relief ponds built in the village to contain
the mud.

Protesters expressed their objections to the construction of
a permanent dike before the company settled compensation
payments to the victims, in line with President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono's instructions.

They blockaded trucks carrying building materials and forced
heavy machinery operators to stop work.

"The residents don't think PT Lapindo is serious about its
promise to compensate us for our submerged land," a Jatirejo
community leader, Anwar, told reporters.

Residents have so far received compensation in the form of a
two-year housing lease assistance payment of Rp 5 million
(US$555) and Rp 300,000 in living costs per person.

According to an agreement reached three months ago, the
company said it would pay Rp 42 million to lease submerged
rice fields for two years, but has yet to deliver on that
promise.

"Under the agreement all of the rice fields have been
registered by a task force. But they still haven't paid us.
We have already been quite cooperative and patient," said
Anwar.

National Mudflow Mitigation Task Force spokesman Rudi
Novrianto said the compensation process had not yet been
completed because the company and the local government were
still assessing the residents' demands. He said a major
issue still being negotiated was the value of affected land
and buildings.

Meanwhile, the company successfully completed a mud disposal
trial run, with mud flowing through a spillway at a volume
of 500 liters per second. The first trial run failed due to
technical problems with the pumps, inundating houses in
Pejarakan village, Sidoarjo. Scores of residents had to
evacuate due to the accident.

"We are ready to channel the mud through the spillway into
the Porong River today (Wednesday)," said the head of the
mitigation task force, Basuki Hadimulyono.
In a related development, the East Java Police have named
the former general manager of Lapindo Brantas, Aswan
Siregar, a suspect in the mudflow case.

"With the former general manager we have now named 10
suspects in the case," said East Java Police chief of
detectives Sr. Comr. Amhar Azeth.

The management of Lapindo Brantas has not provided updated
information on the disaster in Sidoarjo, which began May 29,
and has yet to change its original statement that the
mudflow was caused by the earthquake in Yogyakarta and
Central Java.

Also, the company is being accused of not fulfilling its
responsibilities to thousands of residents in the eight
villages affected by the mud. It has provided assistance for
house leases and compensated dismissed workers whose
workplaces were affected by the mudflow, but has not yet
paid compensation for land and damaged properties as was
instructed by the President.

The Surabaya office of the Legal Aid Institute believes
Lapindo Brantas has infringed upon the basic rights of
refugees, as recognized by the United Nations, while the
Indonesian Forum for the Environment has accused the company
of committing a serious environmental crime.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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