After the Indonesian tsunami: Cashing in on the dead

The devastating tsunami has shattered the lives of thousands of people. More than 400 families have lost members — and in the hospitals, of all places, people have been cashing in on the survivors' suffering.

Deutsche Welle, 2 January 2019

A hearse in front of a hospital in Indonesia (DW/J. Küng)

When the relatives of the tsunami victims come to collect the mortal remains of their loved ones from Serang District Hospital in the province of Banten, around 150 kilometers from Java's ravaged coastal region, they are in a state of shock. Jackson Sinaga from Jakarta is one of them. He lost his nine-month-old son to the floodwaters, triggered by the collapse of the Anak Krakatoa volcano just before Christmas. "Satria was fast asleep in a rented villa on Carita Beach when the tsunami crashed through the building," he says. "It happened so fast — I didn't have time to save my little boy."

Traumatized and plagued by feelings of guilt, Jackson has come to collect the boy's lifeless body from the hospital in Serang. However, instead of being met with sympathy, the 29-year-old father is presented with a hefty bill. He's told he has to pay 800,000 rupiah (€50, $55) which he owes for the transport of the body. "In cash," the forensics department employee adds. That's a lot of money in a country where the average monthly wage is less than €240. Jackson, however, is not capable of thinking rationally, and hands over the money.

Family members of the victims are being ripped off

Three more victims' families meet outside the building. They've also been told they owe money — around four million rupiah. This despite the fact that Indonesia's Ministry of Health is paying all costs resulting from the tsunami disaster, in full, with money from the government's coffers. A debate ensues among the relatives of the dead. One of the people who've been swindled collects the receipts and promises to take them to the local authorities.

Receipts issued on forged letterhead

DW confronts the hospital with the accusations, and is invited to speak to its deputy director, Rahmat Fitriadi. When asked if the hospital knew about the illegal takings, Fitriadi bursts into tears. "Neither the management nor our doctors have charged for any services. We have nothing to do with these schemes," says Fitriadi, sobbing. The official letterhead on the receipts is forged, he continues, dabbing the tears from his eyes. "This is a tragedy for our hospital. I hope this scandal doesn't damage our reputation. We support the authorities' investigation and are providing them with all available information."

Fitradi says his hospital has nothing to do with the scam

Investigators from the provincial police in Banten interrogate doctors, forensic scientists and hospital personnel — and open a can of worms. It seem that at least 15 million rupiah have vanished into the pockets of hospital employees. So far, six of the families cheated have been identified. A forensic department employee and two people working with the emergency services have been arrested on suspicion of corruption. The authorities' investigation is ongoing.

Long jail sentences

It's nothing new in Indonesia for workers in public institutions to demand backhanders or issue illegal invoices. Traffic departments will only issue driving licenses within a reasonable time if you make an "extra payment." Teachers at public schools can be bribed to give out the answers to exam questions. President Joko Widodo has repeatedly promised to clamp down on rampant corruption. What is new is people cashing in on the misery of tsunami victims. If those accused are convicted, they could be facing life sentences; they'll certainly go to prison for at least four years.

Right now, though, for Jackson Sinaga, the arrests are of little interest. "I just hope that no more surviving relatives are swindled and met with such lack of empathy," he says. The Sinaga family has certainly lost all confidence in Serang District Hospital. Jackson's brother and sister, who were also badly injured in the tsunami, are no longer being treated at Serang, but at a hospital in Jakarta.

World Bank offers disaster-hit Indonesia $1 bn in loans

Yahoo – AFP, October 14, 2018

The recent quake-tsunami unleashed devastation on the Indonesian island of
Sulawesi, killing thousands (AFP Photo/MOHD RASFAN)

The World Bank on Sunday announced funding of up to $1 billion for Indonesia after it was rocked by a string of recent disasters, including a deadly earthquake-tsunami that killed thousands.

CEO Kristalina Georgieva unveiled the funds at Indonesian holiday island Bali, where the Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been holding their annual meetings.

A 7.5-magnitude quake and a resulting tsunami tore through Palu city on Sulawesi island on September 28, killing more than 2,000 people and leaving thousands more missing, presumed dead.

Rescue teams scoured the wreckage for a fortnight before calling off the search for the dead, acknowledging as many as 5,000 missing people might never be found.

Georgieva said the funds being made available by the Bank in the form of loans could be used for reconstruction but were also intended to help Indonesia build "resilience", so it would be better prepared in the face of future disasters.

"Disasters will continue to hit and with climate change there will be more," said Georgieva, who visited Palu earlier this week.

"The best memorial we can build for the victims of disaster is to build better, so next time when a disaster hits fewer people are affected, fewer lives are lost, and there is less damage."

Nearly 90,000 people were displaced by the quake in Palu, forcing them into evacuation centres across the rubble-strewn city.

Officials said it could be two years before all the homeless are found permanent accommodation.

Aid groups say a dearth of clean drinking water and medical supplies remains a very real concern for 200,000 people in urgent need.

Donations have begun pouring into the coastal city of 350,000 after a slow start which saw Indonesia criticised for stalling the flow of relief supplies.

The shallow 7.5-magnitude tremor was more powerful than a series of quakes this summer that killed more than 550 people on the Indonesian island of Lombok and neighbouring Sumbawa.

Indonesia has been hit by a string of other deadly quakes, including a devastating 9.1-magnitude tremor that struck off the coast of Sumatra in December 2004, killing 220,000 throughout the region, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati welcomed the pledge.

"This is not one earmark for a certain project, this is something that can be used by the government to support (people) during this uncertain time," she said.

The funding was particularly important in the current economic climate, she said, "with much higher interest rates, tightening of liquidity, (it is) a much harder environment for us to get financing from outside".

Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth.

It lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and many of the world's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

JCI Closes Higher on Monday Despite Collapse of Floor in IDX Building

Jakarta Globe, Sarah Yuniarni, January 15, 2018

The Jakarta Composite Index closed higher on Monday, bouncing back from
Friday despite the collapse of a mezzanine floor in the Indonesia Stock Exchange
building, shortly after the end of the day's first trading session. (JG Photo/Yudha Baskoro)

Jakarta. Indonesia's benchmark stock index closed higher on Monday (15/01), bouncing back from Friday despite the collapse of a mezzanine floor at the local bourse in Jakarta, shortly after the end of the day's first trading session.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) closed 0.19 percent higher at 6,382.

Nafan Aji, an analyst at brokerage firm Binaartha Sekuritas, said the JCI opened higher at 6,379 on Monday due to strong gains in Asian stocks, spurred by an improvement in global commodity prices.

The index reached 6,389 at around 10 a.m., but dropped during the second session.

"The country's index weakened slightly during the second trading session, likely due to negative sentiment from a deficit in Indonesia's trade balance, and the collapse of a first-floor corridor in the Indonesia Stock Exchange [IDX] building, but it bounced back and [still] closed higher than Friday," Nafan said.

Indonesia recorded a $270 million trade deficit in December, but the country still had a cumulative $11.84 billion trade surplus for 2017, Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data shows.

Foreign investors, who accounted for 37 percent of Monday's trading, bought Rp 1.96 trillion ($147.4 million) more in shares than they sold, while local investors sold Rp 1.96 trillion more than they bought.

Some indexes rose during Monday's trading, led by a 1.53 percent gain in the one that tracks mining stocks, including Vale Indonesia and Medco Energi Internasional.

The index that tracks financial stocks, including Bank Mandiri and Bank Central Asia, gained 0.67 percent.

Gainers beat decliners by 168 to 175 on Monday.

IDX Floor Collapse

At least 77 people were injured when a mezzanine floor in the second tower of the IDX building collapsed shortly after 12 p.m. on Monday.

The tower, which is also home to the offices of the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, property consultants and several local lenders, was built in 1998.

The IDX said in a statement that the building management was still investigating the cause of the incident. Police have ruled out an explosion as the cause.

The second trading session started at 1:30 p.m. as normal, despite the incident.

The collapse of a mezzanine floor of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building 

on Monday (15/01) was not caused by a bomb. (Antara Photo/Elo)

Related Article:

Building Collapse Injures 77 at Indonesia Stock Exchange, Bomb Ruled Out
Floor Collapses at Indonesia Stock Exchange Building

Never a Dull Moment on Jokowi’s Policy Trail

Shake-Up: From the fuel subsidy to executions, the new president has stirred debate

Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, Jan 02, 2015

President Joko Widodo arrives for the 12th Asean India Summit at Myanmar
International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Nov. 12, 2014.
(EPA Photo/Rungroj Yongrit)

Jakarta. In the just over two months that he has been president, Joko Widodo has earned both plaudits and criticism for some of his policies, most of them a complete 180 on his predecessor’s take on the same issue.

One of his most attention-grabbing moves was to order the sinking of foreign fishing vessels caught poaching inside Indonesia’s maritime borders.

Since then, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has enrolled the Navy to round up 19 boats and sink five of them.

The policy has drawn praise, with observers saying the administration needs to get touch on fish poaching if it is to turn Indonesia into a global maritime fulcrum as Joko envisions.

“It’s necessary to sink those illegal vessels,” says Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia.

Under the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration, he says, “fish poaching as a problem was hardly looked into by the government.”

“There are many boats that continue to poach our sea resources, and we’ve done little about the problem,” he says. “So now, by sinking these boats, our government wants to convey its stance that Indonesia will never compromise with any foreign boats that steal our fish.”

Hikmahanto says the sinking of the vessels will not damage relations with the countries where the boats are registered, because Indonesia’s response is targeted toward an illegal act being committed in its own waters.

“We are dealing with illegal fishing boats that violate our maritime territory, not the countries where those boats come from,” he says.

He adds, though, that over the next few years, the government will need to make its policy clear to other countries to prevent unwanted diplomatic rows.

“What’s being done now must be continued. We cannot be discriminatory in selecting the boats,” Hikmahanto says.

“In addition, it is best for the Foreign Ministry to inform other countries around the world that we have this policy in place so there won’t be any misunderstanding. Ideally, these other countries must start prohibiting their fishermen from poaching in Indonesian waters.”

A less flashy though far more impactful policy move under Joko has been the raising of subsidized fuel prices as part of an effort to trim the burgeoning subsidy and allocate the savings to more productive programs.

The hike, Joko calculated, would save the state around Rp 100 trillion ($8.04 billion).

On Nov. 18, less than a month since his inauguration on Oct. 20, Joko duly raised the pump price of the widely used Premium brand of low-octane gasoline, from Rp 5,500 per liter to Rp 8,500 per liter. The price of subsidized diesel sold under the Solar brand also went up, from Rp 5,500 per liter to Rp 7,500 per liter.

But on Wednesday, the government announced that there would be another price adjustment — downward this time, in light of the falling price of crude oil.

As of the first day of 2015, Premium has been tamped down to Rp 7,600 per liter, and Solar to Rp 7,250 per liter.

The move seems to have vindicated critics of the initial hike, who said at the time that there was no urgent need to raise pump prices just them with the world oil price on a decline since June this year.

Another controversial issue in the past couple of months has been Joko’s insistence on not just maintaining by actively implementing the death penalty, which was rarely employed during Yudhoyono’s second term as president.

Joko previously claimed that five death row inmates who had exhausted all avenues of appeal would be put to death in December. The Attorney General’s Office, which is responsible for arranging executions, later said that only two of those inmates would face the firing squad that month.

The AGO typically carries out executions in secret and down not announce whether they have been carried out until well after the fact.

As of Thursday, there was no word yet on whether the two executions, set to take place in Batam, Riau Islands, and Cilacap, Central Java, had been carried out.

Rights activists have accused Joko of reneging on campaign promises to champion human rights.

“Joko has [...] violated the spirit of human rights in our country,” says Hendardi, from the Setara Institute, a rights and democracy advocacy group. “Joko shouldn’t continue this policy. It is against global opinion.

“The government will be better off reviewing capital punishment for drug convicts,” he adds.

“It is useless and wouldn’t serve any deterrent effect for drug dealers. There are no statistics showing that capital punishment discourages drug dealing,” Hendardi says.

Haris Azhar, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), says Joko has “no understanding on human rights.”

Related Articles:

Jakarta Archbishop Criticizes Indonesia’s Use of Death Penalty

AGO Adds Another Death Row Inmate to Imminent Execution List

AirAsia, Indonesia and Effective Crisis Management

President Joko Widodo, center, talks to the head of Indonesia’s national search
 and rescue agency, Soelistyo, left, and Chief of the Sea Security Coordinating
 Agency, Vice Admiral Desi Albert Mamahit, right, shortly before a news conference
 about missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8501 in Jakarta, on Dec. 29, 2014.
 (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

Govt to ‘Help’ Lapindo With Mudflow Compensation, Offers to Buy Assets

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, Dec 08, 2014

Children play on swings on the embankment of the Lapindo mudflow. Victims
 are still waiting for full compensation from the company accused of triggering
the disaster. (JG Photo/Arief Priyono)

Jakarta. Victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, are one step closer to being compensated for losses — eight years after dozens of villages and hundreds of hectares of farmland were swamped.

The government announced on Monday that it would buy assets from the company accused of triggering the disaster, Lapindo Brantas, which could then use the proceeds to pay out Rp 781 billion ($62 million) due to victims this year.

Minister of Public Works Basuki Hadimuljono said the government would buy about 20 percent of the company’s assets, which was mostly land, in affected areas.

The announcement comes just days after President Joko Widodo — through cabinet secretary Andi Widjajanto — ordered Lapindo Brantas to wrap up payments to victims of the mud volcano. On top of the Rp 781 billion owed to residents, the company, which is affiliated with the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, must pay Rp 500 billion to affected businesses in 2015.

“They still have around Rp 1.4 trillion to pay,” Andi said. “We’re waiting for it.”

The government’s decision to buy assets from Lapindo Brantas is bound to raise questions about why money from the state budget was essentially being used to compensate a mistake made by the company.

The government is already required to pay Rp 300 billion compensation to victims whose land is located outside the map of affected areas. A 2012 judicial review which sought to have the company cover all compensation costs in areas affected by the mudflow was rejected by the Constitutional Court.

Andi said buying the company’s assets was part of the government’s effort to “help” Lapindo Brantas fulfill its responsibilities.

Lapindo Brantas was conducting gas exploration in the Sidoarjo area in 2006 when one of its natural gas wells blew out, causing a mud flow which destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced thousands of people.

Scientists blame drilling activities by the company for triggering the eruption, but the government at the time decreed it a natural disaster.

Related Articles:

Taxpayers Still Footing the Bill For Sidoarjo Mud

Residents hope govt will fulfil Lapindo compensation promise

Boediono Wants Lapindo Disaster Area for 'Nature Recreation'

Lapindo Told to Shell Out For Mudflow Before Drilling Again

Lapindo Disaster Caused By Human Error: Study

Indonesia's mud volcano flows on

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows

the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos

Satellite Image)

More pictures ....

Govt Allocates Rp 67 Billion for Sinabung Victims’ Relocation

Jakarta Globe, February 5, 2014

People living within three kilometers from the crater of Mount Sinabung will be
relocated, the government’s disaster-management agency has said. (IRIN Photo)

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said on Wednesday that Rp 67 billion ($5.5 million) had been allocated to a build a new settlement for more than 1,000 families displaced by volcanic activity around Mount Sinabung in Karo district, North Sumatra.

Repeated eruptions since September last year have driven nearly 32,000 away from their homes and killed 16 people. The government has, however, decided that the replacement land will be provided only for people living within three kilometers of the crater.

BNPB secretary Fatchul Hadi said the new houses would be built in the subdistrict of Kabanjahe, approximately seven kilometers away from the old neighborhood inside the danger zone.

“The main issue with this relocation plan was [the acquisition of] land, but it has been settled now,” Fatchul told a press conference at the BNPB headquarters in Jakarta. “We’ve secured 15 out of the targeted 25 hectares. In the next few days, we hope to secure all of it.”

A total of 1,109 families will be included in the relocation plan. Each of them will be allocated between 100 and 150 square meters of land, and Rp 30 million with which to build a new house.

“The fund [Rp 67 billion] also includes costs for the construction of necessary facilities, such as roads and clean water,” Fatchul said.

The BNPB would coordinate with the Ministry of Public Works to enact the measures, he said, which are not expected to begin until the volcanic activity returns to normal levels.

Related Article:

Schoolchildren among 14 killed by Indonesia volcano eruption

Marzuki Suggests House Members Donate 25% of Salaries to Sinabung Victims

Jakarta Globe, January 15, 2014

A villager pours pesticide from a bucket as Mount Sinabung spews ash at Kebayaken
 village in Karo district, North Sumatra, on Dec. 4, 2013. (Reuters Photo/Roni Bintang)

The House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie suggested during a plenary meeting on Wednesday that each member of the legislative body should donate 25 percent of their monthly salary to victims of the ongoing Mount Sinabung eruptions in North Sumatra.

The donation scheme was initially suggested by Heriyanto, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party, during the meeting.

“I recommend that we give 25 percent of our incomes to the victims of Mount Sinabung,” he said as quoted by news portal Merdeka.com. “I will be the first.”

Marzuki approved the motion, banging his gavel, adding that all lawmakers from the Sinabung district should donate the entirety of their monthly salaries to those affected.

A House member on average receives Rp 15,510,000 ($1,287) per month, excluding extra allowances for utilities and housing, which could amount to more than Rp 45 million per month.

“This is something for pride,” he said as quoted by Detik.com. “At least it could relieve us of our sins for the new year.”

Anton Sihombing, a lawmaker from the Golkar Party, urged the central government to take concrete actions to help the volcano victims.

“We have to insist that the government [assist] the victims of Mount Sinabung,” he said as quoted by Detik. “They have been evacuated in more than four months.”

The slow response of the government has also prompted a Twitter campaign.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday tweeted that he plans to visit the victims next week.

“Next week, God willing, I will return to Kabanjahe to make sure that the Sinabung administration and victims are well,” he said.

More than 25,000 residents have fled their homes in the past week around Mount Sinabung.

Related Article:

19,000 Indonesians Flee Erupting Mt. Sinabung Volcano

SBY Orders Lapindo to Fully Compensate Mudflow Victims

Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, February 14, 2013

Victims of the Lapindo mudflow rally in front of the State Palace for World
Human  Rights Day. The protestors demanded that the government prosecute
those responsible for a mud volcano that inundated much of their town. (JG
Photo/Safir Makki)

              

Related articles

• Lt. Gen. Says Lapindo Case Used Fake Data Dec 20, 2012
• Ruling to Limit Lapindo Share Of Payouts Is ‘Final, Binding’ Dec 19, 2012
• Constitutional Court Rejects Review to Transfer Lapindo Mudflow Compensation Dec 14, 2012
• Sidoarjo Mudflow Victims Seek Answers Nov 27, 2012
• Taxpayers Still Footing the Bill For Sidoarjo Mud Oct 24, 2012

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday strongly criticized Lapindo Brantas, the oil and gas company that some scientists blame for the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster, for not fulfilling its obligation to compensate the victims.

“I got a report that Lapindo still has not completed its responsibility and Rp 800 billion ($83 million) is still not paid,” Yudhoyono said on Thursday.

Yudhoyono expressed his concern after receiving reports that the area inundated by the mudflow was also threatened by the impact of recent heavy rains.

“I have heard reports saying that there are some unfinished matters that disrupted our efforts to contain the Sidoarjo mudflow,” he said.

Yudhoyono urged Lapindo Brantas, a company partly owned by presidential hopeful and Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, to honor its pledge.

“Please convey this message to Lapindo: that they should keep their promise. If you play around with people you will carry the sins to the afterlife, tell them that,” he said.

Golkar leadership board chairman Hadjriyanto Thohari said he rejected speculation that Yudhoyono’s criticism was a political shot at his party.

“I don’t think it was an attack against Golkar because structurally there is no connection between Lapindo and the party,” said Hadjriyanto, who is also a deputy speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Agung Laksono, the coordinating minister for people’s welfare and a Golkar deputy chairman, also denied that Yudhoyono’s Lapindo critique was politically motivated.

“It was in line with the discussion with the minister of public works, so it was not political at all,” he said.

Agung said Lapindo had paid Rp 3 trillion in compensation to the mudflow victims thus far.

“It’s true that the payment has not been completed, but it doesn’t mean they haven’t paid at all, let’s just wait,” he said.

The Sidoardjo mudflow in East Java — which began in May 2006 after a blowout at one of Lapindo’s natural gas wells — destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced thousands of people.

Lapindo Brantas has long denied it was the cause of the mudflow, instead blaming an earthquake in Yogyakarta, hundreds of kilometers to the west.

The company only agreed to compensate victims within the boundaries of the affected area.

Related Articles:

Bakrie Rep Confirms That Not All Lapindo Mudflow Victims Have Been Compensated

LapindoTold to Shell Out For Mudflow Before Drilling Again

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows

 the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos

 Satellite Image)

More pictures ....

Jakarta Business District Floods After West Flood Canal Dike Collapses

Jakarta Globe, Ronna Nirmala & Lenny Tristia Tambun, January 17, 2013

A general view showing floodwater at Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in

Central Jakarta. (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

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• Jakarta in Emergency Status Until Jan.

Central Jakarta’s business district flooded with water on Thursday after a 30-meter-long section of the West Flood Canal dike collapsed, the Jakarta Public Works Agency said.

Jakarta officials suspect the collapse was caused by surge of water sent into the canal after the Manggarai floodgate was opened hours earlier. The dike could not withstand the force of water, which flowed into the canal at 500 cubic meters per second, Jakarta Public Works Agency head Hendri said.

Homes and roads in the Menteng area were inundated with 1.5 meters of water late Thursday morning as floodwaters covered portions of Jalan Teluk Betung and Tosari. Jalan MH Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman were also underwater by Thursday afternoon.

Train service was cancelled in the greater Jakarta area after floods destroyed 40 meters of tracks near the Tanah Abang station, KAI spokesman Mateta Rizalulhaq said.

The train company is unable to fix the damaged tracks until the dike is repaired.

“We cannot fix the railway as long as the water is still there,” Mateta said. “It can only be done after it is dry.”

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo visited the site at Thursday afternoon and urged the Ministry of Public Works to fix the dike while emergency funding is available.

“I will call on the Ministry of Public Works to fix this,” Joko said.

As long as the dike remains damaged, the flooding will continue along Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman, Hendri said.

“If it is not fixed, the floods… will keep on getting higher,” he said.

The agency plans to construct a temporary stone wall to try to stop some of the rushing water before crews begin making permanent repairs.

Jakarta will remain under emergency status until January 27.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, second left, and Foreign Minister

 Marty Natalegawa, left, roll up their pants as they inspect the inundated

 yard of the presidential palace in Central Jakarta. (Photo courtesy of 

presidensby.info)

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Constitutional Court Rejects Review to Transfer Lapindo Mudflow Compensation

Jakarta Globe, December 14, 2012

Victims of the Lapindo mud flow rally in front of the State Palace for World Human
 Rights Day. The protestors demanded the government prosecute those responsible
for a mud volcano that inundated much of their town. (JG Photo/Safir Makki) 

             

Related articles

• Sidoarjo Mudflow Victims Seek Answers
• Taxpayers Still Footing the Bill For Sidoarjo Mud
• Kontras: Sidoarjo Victim’s TV Apology to Bakrie is Shameful
• Lapindo Mudflow Money Might Help Aburizal Bakrie Win Presidential Race
• Desperation Drives Indonesia's Protesters to Jakarta

The Constitutional Court has rejected a request to transfer the full burden of compensation covering all the land affected by the Lapindo mudflow, to the oil and gas company owned by the family of Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Several people including former Airlangga University lecturer Tjuk Kasturi Sukiadi and author Ali Azhar Akbar had filed a judicial review questioning why money from the state budget was being used to compensate a mistake made by the company, Lapindo Brantas.

The Sidoarjo mudflow in East Java — which began erupting in May 2006 after the blowout of one of Lapindo’s natural gas wells — destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced thousands of people.

The company only agreed to compensate victims within the boundaries of the affected area.

The applicants had asked for a review of article 18 and 19 of the 2012 Law on State Budget — which said the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) could use the funds from the state budget to compensate the victims whose land in three villages located outside of the map of the affected area were damaged, costs which Lapindo refused to pay.

They said the state budget should not be used to compensate the mistake made by the company.

But the court considered that allocating the state budget to handle the problem created by the mudflow outside the map of the affected area did not eliminate the responsibility and obligations of Lapindo Brantas.

“[The court] declares rejecting the whole request of the applicants,” chairman of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD said on Thursday as quoted by Antarasumbar.com.

The court judge Anwar Usman said the government had shared the compensation responsibility with Lapindo Brantas, adding that Lapindo were still responsible for compensating those who lived within the affected area map, while the government covered the compensation for those who lived outside the map of the affected area.

“If the government did not share the responsibility to solve the problems of Sidoarjo people, they would have been suffering without legal certainty,” Anwar said.

“Buying the land and building outside the map of the affected area as part of the mitigation effort on mudflow eruption is not against the constitution. The court consider the applicant's request to review [the law] was legally not proven and baseless.”

Related Articles:

Compensation Dispute on Sidoardjo Mudflow Disaster

‘Graft at Work’ in Lapindo Mudflow Probe

Taxpayers Still Footing the Bill For Sidoarjo Mud

Jakarta Globe, Markus Junianto Sihaloho, October 24, 2012

A Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) officer at the mudflow
in 2011. (AFP Photo)

               

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• Kontras: Sidoarjo Victim’s TV Apology to Bakrie is Shameful
• Lapindo Mudflow Money Might Help Aburizal Bakrie Win Presidential Race
• Desperation Drives Indonesia's Protesters to Jakarta
• Lapindo Mudflow Victim Completes 25-Day Walk to Jakarta
• Lapindo Mudflow Book's Author Still Missing

The 2013 State Budget passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday suggests that the government will continue to give money to victims of the 2006 mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, despite claims that it was the responsibility of private company Lapindo Brantas.

It is uncertain what the final figure is but the government earlier proposed that Rp 2.26 trillion ($235 million) from state coffers be earmarked to the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS), an ad hoc agency created to contain the mudflow and handle the victims relocation scheme.

Some of the funds, the government proposal says, will be used to purchase land and buildings outside the areas immediately affected by the mudflow, located in the villages of Besuki, Kedungcangkring and Pejarakan, and nine communities spread around the wards of Siring, Jatirejo and Mindi.

The funds will also be used to relocate residents in 65 community units spread across nine wards and villages, which the government says are all outside of the affected zones.

Money is also earmarked to “rescue the economic and social life” of the community around the impacted area while some funds are directed at efforts to further contain the flow of mud.

The government has already spent Rp 3.26 trillion on the BPLS and this year earmarked another Rp 1.6 trillion.

While refusing to acknowledge that the mudflow was a direct result of its gas drilling activities, Lapindo has agreed to compensate and acquire the land immediately impacted by the disaster.

But Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said in June that Lapindo, a resources company owned by the family of businessman and presidential hopeful Aburizal Bakrie, has only paid Rp 2.9 trillion in compensation out of the Rp 3.8 trillion it was ordered to pay.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Anis Matta, who led the plenary session at which the House approved next year’s state budget, refused to comment on why the state is earmarking more money to the disaster.

“Try asking related House commission leaders,” he said.

Opinions are split on the cause of the incident. Many say it was caused by the drilling activities of Lapindo. But the company blamed an earthquake in Yogyakarta, hundreds of kilometers to the east.

On Aug. 15, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) made three recommendations linked to the mud volcano.

Komnas HAM recommended the company complete the purchase of land and buildings now covered by the mudflow; the police find out where responsibility for the incident lies; and the government assist victims through revised regulations.

The incident destroyed hundreds of homes, swamped 720 hectares of land and displaced thousands of people.

Delays in compensation payments have damaged public support for Aburizal, who on July 1 announced his bid for presidency under the Golkar Party banner.

Lalu Mara Satriawangsa, a Bakrie family spokesman, said the Bakries had set aside a large sum of money for compensation. There is speculation that Aburizal will wait until just before the 2014 election to pay, in an effort to boost his electoral prospects.

Golkar Party chairman Aburizal
Bakrie. (Reuters Photo/File)

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Indonesia's mud volcano flows on

Satellite picture received from Ikonos Satellite Image on May 29, 2008 shows

the mud volcano and its surrounding area in Sidoarjo, East Java. (AFP/Ikonos

Satellite Image)

More pictures ....