Komnas HAM: Lapindo Mudflow Violates Human Rights
The National Commission also urges national police to follow up the conclusion along with the findings of the Commission over the case by conducting new investigation. “PT Lapindo must paying compensation to all victims, without exception,” said Komnas HAM chairman Ifdhal Kasim this week.
Ifdhal stated that since the Lapindo mudflow is a crime, not a disaster, the Government does not have any obligation to bear the payment of compensation to the victims. More than US$200 million of the State Budget 2013 is set aside to handle the mudflow.
Komnas HAM deputy chairman Nur Kholis added that the owners of the participation shares in the Lapindo project at Brantas Block in Sidoarjo, West Java, including Sidoarjo regent and the upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas, are required to bear the payment of the compensation.
“The owners of participation shares at Brantas Block, such as PT Medco Energy E&P and Santos,” said Kholis.
The National Commission has launched an investigation since 2009. It found fifteen categories of human rights violations in the Lapindo mudflow case. The violations include the right of living over the dead victims, violation of the right of safety, violation of the rights of housing, health, employment, education, and social security.
Andi Darussalam, spokesperson of PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, a subsidiary company of PT Lapindo Brantas Inc, has reluctant to respond the conclusion from the National Commission.
“No comment, let’s waiting for the letter (from the National Commission) first,” said Andi.
Andi stated that his company is currently still working hard to pay the compensation for all victims.
While Paring Waluyo Utomo, an assistance for the Lapindo mudflow victims, expressed his pessimism related to the follow up of the National Commission’s conclusion. Paring said that the National Commission had previously announced similar conclusion, which was ignored by the Government. “The conclusion from Komnas HAM that the Lapindo mudflow was not a disaster, but a human rights violation, is actually an old issue since 2008,” said Paring.
The Lapindo mudflow occurred in May 29, 2006, when Lapindo Brantas was conducting drilling activities at Brantas PSC, which is jointly owned by Australia’s Santos and Medco. The mudflow has inundated of around 1,000 hectares.
Lapindo Brantas has been blamed for the mudflow since the epicenter of the mud volcano was only about 150 meters away from the Banjar Panji well, a gas exploration well owned by Lapindo Brantas, previously a subsidiary of PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk. Energi Mega has spin off Lapindo Brantas, but it is still under the Bakrie Group owned by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
Five villages and residential areas had been flooded by the Lapindo hot mudflow and had displaced more than 30,000 people. The hot mudflow has also caused detrimental impact on agriculture and industries surrounding the area as well as environmental damage along the coastal areas.
The East Java Police, unfortunately on August 5, 2008, issued an SP3 letter to terminate the investigation over the Lapindo mudflow case. the SP3 letter which signed by chief of the East Java Police’s detective Sr. Comr. Edi Supriyadi stated that the investigation has been terminated due to the Court concluded that the mudflow is a disaster, not a crime.
The Government, then, subjected to the Presidential Regulation No 14/2007, via Sidoarjo Mud Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPLS) had through BPLS spent more than Rp3 trillion on the compensation and infrastructure, an amount comparable to build around 6,000 modest elementary schools in the eastern region of the country. The Government previously also released Presidential Decree No 13/2006 and Presidential Decree No 5/2007 to bear the impacts of Lapindo mudflow.
Aburizal Bakrie, popularly called Ical, meanwhile previously claimed that Bakrie Family had spent Rp9 trillion or about US$1 billion for the victims of Lapindo mudflow in Sidoarjo, East Java. Aburizal also told that the Rp9 trillion was spent to purchase land affected by the mudflow at the price of 20 times normal price. Aburizal says that he has built residential area for the mudflow victims. About 12,000 victims accepted the proposal, while 80 have yet to agree.
The latest, the House of Representatives (DPR), surprisingly in the plenary session on March 31, 2012, has passed the revision of the 2012 State Budget Law where in Article 18 and Article 19, the House approved the Government’s request to allocate the bailout amounting to Rp1.6 trillion for handling the victims of Lapindo’s mudflow. The articles then popular called as Lapindo bailout articles.
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Publish : 19 Agustus 2012
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:http://www.theindonesiatoday.com/news/politic-news/politic-headlines/item/170-komnas-ham-lapindo-mudflow-violates-human-rights.html
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Terakhir diperbaharui (Rabu, 29 August 2012 00:27)
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