-
Police, AGO at Odds Over Fate of the Lapindo Case
Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz — The East Java Police on Wednesday affirmed that they had no intention of dropping a criminal case against a drilling company believed to be partially responsible for the mud volcano that has displaced tens of thousands in Sidoarjo, East Java.
-
AGO Washes Its Hands of Lapindo Mudflow Case
JakartaGlobe, Heru Andriyanto– The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Monday that it would not pursue a criminal case in the devastating mud volcano disaster in East Java allegedly involving PT Lapindo Brantas, a company owned by the family of senior minister Aburizal Bakrie.
-
Victims Skeptical of Bakrie’s New Pledge
Victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster remain skeptical of the new pledge made by the Bakrie Family to pay disaster compensation in phases.
-
Conclusive Vote on Cause of Indonesian Mud Volcano
World scientists conclude drilling, not earthquake, was the cause of east Java mud volcano at international debate. Two years’ of global public debate over the possible causes of Lusi has finally concluded.A resounding vote of international petroleum geologists from around the globe, including Durham University geologist Professor Richard Davies, concluded the mud volcano was triggered…
-
Geologists Blame Gas Drilling for Indonesia Mud Disaster
A meeting of leading geologists has concluded that an Indonesian mud volcano which erupted in May 2006, triggering a social and environmental disaster, was caused by nearby drilling for gas, a British university said on Thursday. The volcano, named Lusi, has swamped 12 villages and displaced around 30,000 people and continues to spew boiling mud…
-
Villages Victimized by of Lapindo Mudflow Demonstrate
Four villages are now uninhabitable because half the areas were affected by the mudflow while the other half were damaged by flammable gas.
-
Indonesia’s Government Saves the Bakrie Empire
Thursday, 16 October 2008 – Government companies step up to buy shares in a flailing family group. As it has in the past, the Indonesia government stepped in Wednesday to stop the unravelling of the empire of the politically powerful Chief Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie with a deal to allow government-owned companies to buy shares…
-
State Firms Teaming Up to Help Out The Bakries
A number of state and private companies are exploring the possibility of forming a consortium to purchase a stake in the Bakrie family’s most valuable company and the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal, PT Bumi Resources. State miners PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA), PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) and PT Timah are in serious talks to seek…
-
Govt Mulls Helping Out Bakrie to Repay Favor
The Bakrie family, headed by welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, is unlikely to go bust any time soon, as the government ponders allowing state firms to buy stakes in the clan’s companies to help avoid a possible debt default. A failure by the family to secure immediate funding means it could risk losing the ownership of…
-
Lapindo Belum Bayar Uang Muka Korban Lumpur
Sidoarjo (ANTARA News) – Warga korban luapan lumpur Lapindo Brantas Inc. baik yang mendukung program pembayaran ganti rugi dengan cash and carry maupun cash and resettlement kini makin resah, karena hingga kini belum mendapat transfer pencairan dana 20 persen uang muka. Sebelumnya, warga korban lumpur yang mengungsi di Pasar Porong Baru (PPB) juga resah, karena…
-
Safety Sought From Sidoarjo Mudflow Agency
The Sidoarjo regency administration is seeking a guarantee of safety from the government-backed Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) that the dumping of hot mud into the River Porong will not trigger floods. Since October, 2006, BPLS has redirected 69 million cubic meters of hot mud into the river, triggering sedimentation that could lead to floods…
-
Indonesia at the Crossroads (Sigh) Again
Friday, 24 October 2008 – A defining struggle breaks out between a reformer and the king of the country’s old guard. In one direction beckons people like Sri Mulyani Indrawati, the country’s finance minister. Clean, capable, she’s the anti-politician Indonesians love and who foreign investors can’t stop talking about. In one direction beckons people like Sri Mulyani…
-
Mud Victims Spooked by Own Ghost Towns
Hundreds of houses in three villages were inundated with mud in Sidoardjo in February, and thousands of people were displaced from their homes, forcing them to live in makeshift tents erected along an abandoned toll road. While the sturdier structures in the three villages — Besuki, Kedung Cangkring and Renokenongo — were left inundated with…
-
Victims Refuse to Sell Muddy Land to Lapindo
Some 69 families in the East Java villages of Jatirejo, Siring and Renokenongo are standing their ground, refusing to sell their land as part of the compensation plan proposed by the energy company being held responsible for the mudflow disaster. “If we accept the proposal the company is offering, it will amount to turning our…
-
Mudflow Families Celebrate Idul Fitri in Makeshift Huts
For Supardi, the recent Idul Fitri celebrations were vastly different to previous years as his village struggled to rebuild after a devastating mudflow struck in February this year. As neighborhood head of Besuki village, Supardi and his fellow villagers celebrated Idul Fitri in emergency tents and makeshift houses after their homes and farmland were destroyed…
-
Indonesia’s One-Man Wrecking Crew
Friday, 10 October 2008, written by Our Correspondent The Jakarta Stock Exchange remains closed after Bakrie Group companies are suspended from trading amid allegations of irregularities Indonesia’s billionaire Chief Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie, whose companies are already being held responsible for the biggest man-made environmental disaster in Indonesian history, is now in trouble for playing…
-
Jakarta Post Editorial: The Burning Seat
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani has been sitting in the hot seat for some time now, and now her seat has now gone from hot to burning since businesspeople and politicians with vested interests have been making attempts to unseat her. We earnestly hope she will survive this saga. The imbroglio, we suspect, is related to…
-
Lapindo Refugees Pray at Mudflow Site
TempoInteractive, Jakarta – Hundreds of Lapindo mudflow refugees held Idul Fitri prayer at the site of the mudlow in Sidoarjo, East Java on Wednesday. The refugees picked one site for their prayer in Ketapang Keres village cancelling the two previous locations within the mud flooded area prepared the day before. Hundreds of Lapindo mudflow refugees held Idul Fitri…
-
Lapindo Victims Cry For Cash Aid
“All we have has been submerged below the drying mud,” Muhayatin, 38, a former resident of the submerged village of Renokenongo,
-
Lapindo Silt Feared to Trigger Major Flooding
Mudflow victims on Wednesday protested the dumping of mud into the Porong River for a second time, saying the buildup of sediment had produced a pungent stench and increased the risk of rainy season flooding along the East Java river. The mud mass has reached between two and five meters from the top of the…