Mudflow map leads nowhere for victims

Has Published on The Jakarta Post Saturday edition, March 24, 2007

Victims of the Sidoarjo mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java, will have to wait longer for compensation after a map of the area affected by the disaster was rejected by the East Java Legislative Council on Friday.

The map was drawn up on the orders of the central government, which said it would be used as grounds for paying compensation to people displaced by the mudflow, which began in May last year at a gas exploration well belonging to Lapindo Brantas.

On Thursday, East Java officials and council members and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro met and agreed that a new map was needed to establish the area affected by the mud.

Sidoarjo Regent Wien Hendrarso presented the map to the council's mudflow team on Friday, but returned to his regency that day with no clear decision having been made.

The council does not want to continue discussing compensation and related issues until official regulations are put in place. While the President has issued a decree on the mudflow, there are no regulations concerning the matter.

"There should be a legal umbrella for the map to protect the victims' right to compensation," said M. Rofik, a member of the council's mudflow team.

Wien said the map needed to be completed.

"We should clearly map out the area first," he said.

The central government-appointed national team to deal with the disaster and Lapindo agreed in December last year to compensate affected residents in four villages.

But as the mud continued to spread to other villages, as well as flood the Tanggulangin Anggun Sejahtera housing complex, more people began to demand compensation.

On Friday, the national team's chief executive, Basuki Hadimulyono, faced residents of the four villages first affected by the mudflow. They were angry at the unclear status of their compensation payments, a situation aggravated by the absence of agreed-upon data relating to the affected areas.

PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, a Lapindo Brantas subsidiary assigned to pay the compensation, has requested the government use data collected by Surabaya's 10th November Technology Institute, while residents have said that information from local subdistricts should be used.

"If we agree to use data from the institute, this problem can be quickly solved," Basuki said at a forum held at the Sidoarjo regency administration's office.

But the villagers were skeptical.

"How can we be sure of the institute's data's validity? There are data from subdistricts that are more valid since the data belong to the government," said Jatirejo subdistrict head Makmudatul Fajiah.

He said the subdistricts' data would include informal information on land ownership that the institute did not have.

"We would find it better to use the official data from the villages," he said to approving cheers from other residents.

Basuki said he would discuss the request with Minarak Lapindo Jaya.

Govt mulls cash compensation for mud victims

The government will consider meeting the demand for cash compensation by victims of a mud-flooded housing complex in Sidoarjo, East Java, a minister said Thursday.

The statement was made by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro following a three-hour closed-door meeting with mudflow victims from the Tanggulangin Anggun Sejahtera housing complex. Purnomo leads the government-appointed team dealing with the disaster.

"We'll take the demand for cash-and-carry compensation to Jakarta but (the decision) will be made once there are clear restrictions," said Purnomo.

The clear restrictions he was referring to will be part of a new map of the mud disaster zone that will be drawn by East Java Governor Imam Utomo and his team. It will update a map made before an underground gas pipeline explosion in November expanded the mud-flooded area.

The new map will be approved and signed by the government and the victims. It will also be used as evidence in establishing compensation.

Sidoarjo Regent Win Hendrarso, who was also at the meeting, said in accordance with the new map, residents in the housing complex as well as in Kedungbendo, Kepatang, Gempol Sari, Kali Tengah and Porong will receive compensation.

The team and Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company many blame for the disaster, have so far only approved compensation for mudflow victims in four villages: Siring, Kedungbendo, Jatirejo and Renokenongo.

Outside the meeting at the Grahadi building, hundreds of mudflow victims from the housing complex staged a protest, insisting on meeting with Purnomo.

Some 20 meters from the building, they were blocked by dozens of police officers who formed a barricade with barbed wire and water cannons.

"We're not the criminals, sir. It's Lapindo. Why are we always being stopped? If you dare, arrest Lapindo's people and put them in jail," yelled a protester.

The demonstrators mostly came on motorcycles, leaving their makeshift shelters in Pasar Baru Porong market in Sidoarjo in the morning and heading to East Java Legislative building.

After shouting out speeches and blocking roads at the council building, they headed toward the Grahadi building, some seven kilometers away, under tight police monitoring.

Purnomo explained the risk if the government takes over the handling of the mudflow disaster or declares it a national disaster.

If that happens, he said, the mudflow victims will be given the same treatment as victims of other disasters in places such as Aceh, Yogyakarta or East Nusa Tenggara.

"The compensation given will only amount to Rp 15 million for each house," he said.

The deputy head of the East Java Legislative Council's mudflow disaster special team, Muhammad Mirdas, walked out of the gathering.

He said those at the meeting lacked the spirit to defend the victims.

"The new map which will be prepared has to be approved by Lapindo and I'm not happy with it. The only way (to get their demands heard) is for the victims to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," he said.