Displaced mudflow victims block highway

ID Nugroho and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, Malang

Protesters from nine villages affected by the mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, blocked the Porong highway and railway tracks for over eight hours Monday to demand inclusion in the central government's compensation program. They plan to meet the governor today to put forward their demands.

The protest began at 8:30 a.m. when around 1,000 villagers, from Mindi, Siring Barat, Jatirejo Barat, Ketapang, Gempol Sari, Glagah Arum, Primbon, Kali Tengah and Gedang converged at four points along the highway, blocking traffic at the Porong turnpike, the Kuning Siring Monument, the intersection at the Brimob Training Center and the Porong Bridge.

Anti-riot and Brimob police units in full gear prevented onlookers from joining the protesters. The Brimob unit stopped those in Mindi from venturing out of their village. Police officers were pushed back to the end of the road from where they had to address the crowd.

At the intersection near the Brimob Training Center, demonstrators were forced by police to retreat. Some yelled obscenities at the police while others cried.

The protesters blocked traffic on the Porong highway and six train services were canceled.

The massive rally prompted Sidoarjo Vice Regent Syaiful Ilah to speak to the crowd. He urged the demonstrators to end their protest. They initially refused and asked Syaiful to provide a solution to resolve the problem.

"We finally agreed to meet Governor Imam Utomo on Tuesday to find a solution and try and meet people's demands," said Syaiful, who was optimistic tomorrow's meeting would be fruitful.

Team coordinator of the nine villages Bambang Koeswanto said residents had agreed to meet the governor and added they would take to the streets again and block the road if tomorrow's meeting failed.

In Malang, spokesman for state railway company PT KAI's Surabaya Operation Division Sudarsono said the road and railway blockades in Porong and Tanggulangin districts Monday had paralyzed the railway line between Malang and Blitar to Surabaya.

"If residents continue blocking the railway line until nighttime, PT KAI could incur a loss of around Rp 200 million (US$22,200) in revenue," said Sudarsono.

Sudarsono said, however, only six trains were affected.

"The disruption started at 8:30 a.m. and some train drivers returned to their departure stations because they couldn't continue their journey," said Sudarsono.

He urged the authorities to negotiate with the demonstrators so they could remove the blockade at Mindi village.

"Please, do protest, but not at the expense of other people's interests," he said.

Sudarsono added train passengers who bought tickets but were unable to travel could collect refunds at the place of issuance.

"We will fully reimburse the tickets and will provide new tickets for those who wish to reschedule their trip," he said.