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Category: Lapindo di Media

  • 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 what has been going on in the financial market, especially to the Bakrie Group. Many believe Bakrie is now in a make-or-break situation as it struggles to meet huge obligations to its creditors who hold shares in its subsidiary companies as collateral.

    Now that the value of this collateral has dropped significantly, Bakrie is trying to sell off its assets to repay $1.2 billion worth of debts that will mature between the end of this year and early next year.

    As the situation worsens, the Bakrie Group, controlled by the family of Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, may make a desperate attempt to get President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to bail them out using either state money or funds from state companies.

    It seems that most cabinet ministers and even Vice President Jusuf Kalla have made no objections to such a move. But Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, who holds the key to the state coffers, differs and even resists a move that smacks of a raw deal.

    We are concerned whether Sri Mulyani will be able to maintain her strong stance in the face of mounting pressure from various quarters. Because of her persistent anti-graft reform drive at the ministry, she has established more enemies than anyone else in her position previously.

    Her reform of the customs office at Indonesia’s largest port, Tanjung Priok, has cost certain businesspeople dearly. Those who once took an easy route by bribing customs officials to get their goods out of the customs area quickly (often by smuggling or under-invoicing imports), now find it much tougher to slip through.

    Worse, several parties now claim that customs officials who were dissatisfied with Mulyani’s work have intentionally slowed their pace of work. This development has impacted honest businesspeople who must bear higher capital costs because of the slowed movement of their goods. So now both kinds of businesspeople have a reason to dislike her.

    Mulyani’s anti-graft reforms at the tax office have also taken their toll. One good example is the much-publicized zealous efforts of the tax office to uncover the suspected tax evasion of a palm oil company belonging to Raja Garuda Mas Group, controlled by powerful businessman Sukanto Tanoto.

    Mulyani has also engaged in confrontations with certain coal producers, asking the immigration office to impose travel bans on businesspeople with coal interests who owed the state unpaid royalties and taxes. One such coal company belongs to the Bakrie Group.

    But Mulyani had clashed with the Bakrie Group before this, when, through the Capital Market Supervisory Agency, she rejected a plan by Bakrie’s oil and gas entity, Energi Mega Persada, to spin-off Lapindo Brantas (which had created massive problems in Sidoarjo resulting from an uncontrolled mudflow that is believed to have resulted from Lapindo drilling activities there). This case was finally resolved, with Energi allowed to sell Lapindo to wash its hands of an uncertain future liability.

    And now, Mulyani is clashing with Bakrie again. This time, however the clash looks to be protracted, as Bakrie is in a do-or-die situation where it needs to attract buyers or get help from the state or it will face bankruptcy or hostile takeover. Mulyani has said if companies must go bust, then let them be. After all, it is their fault, and why should the government come to rescue them.

    Because of her persistence in protecting the state budget from abuse, Mulyani’s enemies have launched a covert operation to unseat her. In the public domain, concerted efforts have been made to discredit Mulyani — claiming she is “un-nationalistic” for her unwillingness to help out local indigenous businesspeople. Some of these people have even accused her of being a running dog for the International Monetary Fund, where she once served as an executive director.

    On the contrary, by acting firmly to clean up the customs and tax offices, by penalizing corrupt businesspeople and by acting firmly to defend the state budget from abuse, we can see Mulyani is in fact more nationalistic than those who have attempted to discredit her.

    The current political situation may present itself to President Yudhoyono as a big dilemma: whether to help his business friends, or to side with the impeccable and respected finance minister. But the choice is really clear.

    Thu, 10/23/2008 11:04 AM  |  Opinion | The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/23/editorial-the-burning-seat.html

  • Normalisasi Sungai, BPLS Diberi Waktu Dua Minggu

    SIDOARJO, KOMPAS – Bupati Sidoarjo Win Hendrarso memberi batas waktu dua minggu kepada Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur di Sidoarjo atau BPLS Jawa Timur untuk merampungkan normalisasi Sungai Porong. Bupati mengusulkan pembuatan celah di tengah-tengah endapan sungai dan penambahan mesin pengeruk lumpur Lapindo di Sungai Porong.

    Win menjelaskan, endapan lumpur Lapindo di Sungai Porong semakin parah dan sangat mengkhawatirkan. Apalagi, sekarang sudah mendekati musim hujan. Beberapa titik tanggul sungai bukan mustahil jebol karena tidak mampu menampung aliran air Sungai Porong yang tidak lancar akibat endapan lumpur.

    ”Saya berharap BPLS dapat segera merampungkan normalisasi Sungai Porong itu. Jika tidak, dikhawatirkan terjadi luapan air sungai di musim hujan nanti,” kata Win, Rabu (8/10) di Sidoarjo, Jatim.

    Win juga mengimbau agar mesin pengeruk lumpur di Sungai Porong ditambah. Lima mesin pengeruk yang beroperasi saat ini masih kurang seiring dengan semakin dekatnya musim hujan. ”BPLS sepatutnya menambah jumlah mesin pengeruk lumpur menjadi 12 unit,” ujarnya.

    Senin lalu Win meninjau endapan lumpur Lapindo Brantas di Sungai Porong yang berada di Desa Bulang, Kecamatan Prambon, Sidoarjo. Lokasi tersebut dinilai paling rawan saat musim hujan nanti. Tahun lalu, selisih permukaan air sungai dengan tanggul sekitar 15 sentimeter. Tahun ini, diprediksi terjadi luapan air sungai saat musim hujan dan hal itu bakal merendam ratusan hektar sawah di desa tersebut.

    Masih berlanjut

    Tentang pembuangan lumpur Lapindo ke Sungai Porong, hingga kemarin hal itu masih berlanjut. Dalam waktu dekat bahkan akan ada penambahan pipa pembuangan lumpur ke sungai itu. Rencananya, pipa tersebut dipasang dari titik tanggul nomor 42 menuju Sungai Porong melewati Desa Besuki, Kecamatan Jabon, Sidoarjo.

    Menurut anggota staf Humas BPLS, Akhmad Kusairi, selain ada penambahan pipa pembuangan lumpur, akan ada penambahan tujuh mesin pemompa lumpur sehingga total mesin jadi 19 unit.

    Pipa yang dipasang, katanya, berdiameter 60 sentimeter dengan debit 0,6 meter kubik lumpur per detik. ”Penambahan pipa pembuangan lumpur ini bertujuan mengurangi debit pembuangan lumpur ke kolam penampungan lumpur yang saat ini nyaris penuh. Selain itu, untuk mencegah timbulnya wilayah terdampak baru sebagai akibat jebolnya tanggul jika tak mampu menampung lumpur,” kata Kusairi.

    Masih terkait lumpur Lapindo, kemarin 211 keluarga pengungsi korban lumpur di Dusun Besuk, Desa Besuki, tepatnya di sisi barat Jalan Tol Porong-Gempol, berbenah untuk pindah. Pasalnya, tempat pengungsian yang selama ini mereka tempati akan dilalui pipa pembuangan lumpur menuju Sungai Porong. (APO)

    © Kompas

  • 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 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.

    A legislator Ario Widjanarko told reporters after the prayer that the house will monitor the compensation for the remaining mudflow refugees who have not receive the pay off. A member of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission also joined the prayer at the mudlake area.

    Refugees held an annual visit to the grave of their relatives, a tradition which follows Ramadan and Idul Fitri in some places or groups in Indonesia, and the areas where their properties were.

    The mudflow in Porong subregency spurred in 2006 at one of the exploration site of the Lapindo Brantas mining company in the region.

    More than 10.000 residence were forced to leave their land as the mud form a 2,5 square miles lake which drowned everything in the area. The mudflow is still continuing.

    Rohman Taufiq

    © Tempo Interactive

  • Lapindo Victims Cry For Cash Aid

    SIDOARJO TEARS: Mariati, 43, (right) a victim of the Lapindo mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, cries after conducting Ied prayers next to a hot mud retention dam on Wednesday. Mariati said her father died from deep depression that resulted from the disaster which had devastated their house and farmland. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)

    The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo – Mariati, 43, (right) a victim of the Lapindo mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, cries after conducting Ied prayers next to a hot mud retention dam on Wednesday. Mariati said her father died from deep depression that resulted from the disaster which had devastated their house and farmland.

    Thousands of mudflow victims in Sidoarjo, East Java, said their Ied prayer for Idul Fitri by the hot mud that covers their assets and culture, their hopes of soon receiving more cash compensation fading fast.

    All the attendees, wearing Islamic attire, said their Ied prayer while facing the vast pool of mud — still spewing out hot liquid and odorous gases — under which their houses, land and dead relatives are buried, never to be seen again.

    This was the third time the mudflow victims performed their Ied prayer on the raised round dikes since the mud first began to flow from the mining site of energy company Lapindo Brantas Ltd on May 29, 2006.

    “Right from the beginning, Lapindo has done nothing, by either thought or donation, to help us with a house of worship. Even worse, the mudflow has submerged a mosque built by residents of the four devastated villages,” Muhayatin, 38, a former resident of the submerged village of Renokenongo, told The Jakarta Post after the prayer on Wednesday.

    “All we have — the social community and the culture built over many generations — has been submerged below the drying mud.”

    She said they had decided to perform the Ied prayer at the disaster site not only to honor their emotional connection to their lost community and dead relatives, but also as a reminder they had not received the remaining 80 percent compensation that should have been paid last month.

    She admitted she had received Rp 42 million (US$4500) in compensation — 20 percent of the total — for her home and land. But that was two years ago, she said, and she had no more money to pay the rent, support her family and finance her four children’s education.

    “We are praying here not to celebrate our victory over the monthlong fast, but to recall our lost community and our two years of pain in exile,” she said.

    “We are now strangers in our new environment after living in poverty for two years with no certainty about the payment of the remaining 80 percent compensation.”

    The community that had been lost was one major asset that no amount of money could compensate for, she added.

    Muhayatin, formerly a worker in a factory also destroyed by the mud, has no job now. Her husband has to work as a parking attendant near the mud, with a monthly income of about Rp 300,000 per month.

    “This sum is not enough to meet our daily basic needs,” she said.

    Another local, Mariati, who looked sad as she recalled the disaster, said she was thinking of her father Muntari, who died aged 75 in a deep depression over his house and other assets that were buried by the mudflow.

    “I have no more tears. Lapindo and the government should not make me cry again over the suspended payment of the remaining compensation,” she said.

    Lapindo spokeswoman Yuniwati Teryana said her company would pay the remaining compensation as soon as possible.

    “We are appealing to mudflow victims to be patient. We will pay the compensation as stipulated by the 2007 presidential regulation,” she said.

    Lapindo has so far paid Rp 660 billion for the 20 percent compensation, Rp 719.3 billion for a resettlement program and Rp 169 billion for cash-and-carry settlement. An estimated Rp 5.6 trillion will be need to pay the remaining 80 percent compensation.

    Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho

    Sumber: The Jakarta Post

  • Temuan Baru tentang Lumpur Lapindo

    Luapan lumpur itu hampir dipastikan diakibatkan oleh kesalahan pengeboran yang dilakukan oleh Lapindo Brantas Inc dan bukan akibat efek dari gempa bumi.

    oleh Rusdi Mathari

    SEBUAH tim peneliti independen yang terdiri dari para ahli geologi dari Universitas Durham, Inggris dan Universitas California, Amerika Serikat, kemarin mengungkapkan temuan penting sehubungan semburan lumpur panas Lapindo di Porong, Sidoarjo. Menurut laporan mereka yang dikutip oleh kantor berita AP, luapan lumpur itu hampir dipastikan diakibatkan oleh kesalahan pengeboran yang dilakukan oleh Lapindo Brantas Inc. Mereka bahkan menyebut dengan istilah “99 persen” untuk tidak menyebut 100 persen sebagai kesalahan teknis pengeboran yang dilakukan oleh Lapindo. Gempa bumi memang bisa menyebabkan luapan lumpur, tapi menurut mereka kemungkinan itu sangat kecil, mengingat titik gempa yang cukup jauh dari sumur pengeboran Banjar-Panji 1 Lapindo.

    Laporan para peneliti itu merupakan laporan resmi pertama dari hasil penelitian independen yang dilakukan oleh para geologi internasional tentang luapan lumpur panas Lapindo. Hingga munculnya laporan tersebut, laporan-laporan yang ada tentang lumpur Lapindo tak pernah secara khusus menyebutkan kesalahan pengeboran sebagai satu-satunya penyebab.

    Misalnya sebuah laporan yang pernah dikutip oleh Kompas, hanya menyebutkan bahwa 11 hari sebelum semburan gas, Lapindo sudah diingatkan soal pemasangan casing atau pipa selubung oleh rekanan proyek. Pipa itu seharusnya sudah harus dipasang sebelum pengeboran hingga di formasi kujung atau lapisan tanah yang diduga mengandung gas atau minyak di kedalaman 2.804 meter. Namun Lapindo tidak memasang casing berdiameter 5/8 inci itu pada kedalaman 2.590 meter. Padahal pemasangan casing adalah salah satu rambu keselamatan dalam pengeboran. Namun laporan itu tak pernah menyebutkan secara tegas, apakah hal itu sebagai kelalaian itu yang dilakukan oleh Lapindo atau tidak.

    Laporan dari para peneliti internasional itu, sekaligus juga memutarbalikkan anggapan yang sejauh ini telanjur dipercaya bahwa bencana luapan lumpur yang menenggelamkan 12 desa dan menyebabkan 30 ribu orang kehilangan tempat tinggal itu— diakibatkan oleh gesekan lempeng bumi pasca gempa bumi di Yogyakarta, beberapa hari sebelum lumpur meluap pada 29 Mei 2006. Pihak Lapindo termasuk yang paling berkepentingan dengan dalil bencana alam itu.

    Selama dua hari pada 20-21 Februari 2007, Ikatan Ahli Geologi Indonesia pernah menyelenggarakan lokakarya internasional tentang luapan lumpur panas Lapindo di Jakarta. Lokakarya itu menggandeng Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi dan Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia dan mengangkat tema diskusi bertajuk “International Geological Workshop on Sidoarjo Mud Volcano.” Hasilnya mengejutkan: peserta lokakarya yang katanya juga menghadirkan ilmuwan dari luar negeri itu berkesimpulan, semburan lumpur panas Lapindo diakibatkan oleh gempa bumi.

    Bertolak Belakang dan Manipulatif

    Kesimpulan dari lokakarya dari para ahli geologi itu lalu menjadi pegangan Lapindo. Dalam kasus luapan lumpur itu dan antara lain karena “rekomendasi” IAGI berdasarkan kesimpulan lokakarya itu, pihak Lapindo bersikeras bahwa penyebab semburan lumpur adalah efek dari gempa bumi yang terjadi di Yogyakarta pada awal Mei 2006. Beberapa pihak yang sependapat dengan alasan itu, menyebutnya sebagai bencana yang sulit tidak diperhitungkan sehingga karena itu, pemerintahlah yang harus bertanggung jawab dan mengambil alih persoalan.

    Namun beberapa kalangan yang lain justru menganggap kesimpulan semacam itu terlalu prematur. Sony Keraaf Ketua komisi II DPR-RI yang juga mantan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup bahkan mengatakan adalah manipulasi fakta jika semburan lumpur Sidoarjo adalah akibat gempa bumi. Dikutip oleh situs Tempointeraktif, Ketua IAGI periode 1973-1975, Koesoemadinata, juga tak kalah sengit memberikan komentar terhadap kesimpulan lokakarya IAGI. Koesoemadinata menilai kesimpulan lokakarya itu tidak mencerminkan IAGI yang independen, tidak relevan dengan materi, bahkan cenderung bertolak belakang. Tak lupa Koesoemadinata mengatakan, dirinya sangat prihatin dengan hasil lokakarya yang disebutkan bertaraf internasional itu.

    Menurut Koesoemadinata, sebagai lembaga ilmuwan yang independen IAGI seharusnya juga memberi ruang mengenai adanya pendapat bahwa semburan lumpur panas itu terjadi karena kelalaian pengeboran. Koesoemadinata mengkhawatirkan IAGI telah digunakan untuk kepentingan-kepentingan tertentu. Padahal menurut dia, kebenaran ilmiah sebagai ilmuwan harus dipertahankan.

    Masih Berpotensi

    Beberapa laporan menyebutkan lumpur panas Lapindo yang menyembur dapat mencapai 125 ribu meter kubik per hari dengan bau menyengat. Untuk mengetahui volume lumpur yang sudah merendam 600 hektare sawah, dan menenggelamkan 10 ribuan rumah penduduk Porong, tinggal mengalikan jumlah hari selama dua tahun terakhir dengan debit lumpur yang dikeluarkan setiap hari.

    Tak jauh dari lokasi eksplorasi sumur Banjar Panji 1 dulunya berdiri 24 pabrik yang memproduksi berbagai komoditas dan menyerap puluhan ribu tenaga kerja. Sejak lumpur meluap, semua pabrik itu terkubur oleh lumpur termasuk perekonomian kecil yang diusahakan oleh penduduk setempat. Hingga setahun bencana, Kamar Dagang dan Industri Jatim mencatat, jumlah kerugian akibat kasus lumpur Lapindo yang diderita pelaku industri mencapai Rp 2 triliun. Badan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan Nasional atau Bappenas memperkirakan, kerugian langsung maupun tak langsung yang ditimbulkan oleh bocornya sumur gas Lapindo sudah mencapai Rp 27,4 triliun.

    Menteri Pekerjaan Umum Djoko Kirmanto pernah menaksir luas kawasan bencana akibat semburan lumpur panas Lapindo mencapai sekitar 400 hektare. Itu taksiran Pak Menteri pada beberapa bulan pertama bencana lumpur Lapindo. Sekarang, luas areal itu tentu saja telah bertambah dan semuanya menjadi hak Lapindo, karena mereka telah mengklaim membayarkan ganti rugi kepada penduduk yang ikut menjadi korban.

    Rennier A.R. Latief yang pernah menjabat Direktur Utama Lapindo mengatakan, dalam dua tahun mendatang Grup Bakrie akan mendapatkan untung besar dari luasnya areal bencana itu. Terutama jika areal itu kelak benar-benar kering. Seorang pakar dan pelaku bisnis perminyakan mengatakan, di areal itu masih tersimpan cadangan gas dan minyak yang cukup besar. Grup Bakrie, kata dia, hanya menunggu waktu sembari mengulur-ulur waktu pembayaran ganti rugi kepada sebagian penduduk yang kini masih belum menerima ganti rugi dari Lapindo.

    Laporan terbaru dari para ahli geologi Inggris dan Amerika Serikat yang dipublikasikan Selasa kemarin, tentu akan menimbulkan perdebatan. Namun temuan itu seharusnya mulai juga menjadi salah satu pertimbangan pemerintah untuk menyelesaikan berbagai persoalan akibat luapan lumpur Lapindo di luar pertimbangan IAGI yang menyebutkan luapan lumpur itu akibat efek gempa bumi. Antara lain untuk meminta pertanggungjawaban Grup Bakrie secara ekonomi dan sosial dan tidak lagi membebankan sebagian atau semua akibat luapan lumpur itu kepada keuangan negara.

  • 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.

    SILTING DANGER: Mud siphoned from Lapindo gas mining site hardens and clogs the Porong River in East Java on Wednesday. Local residents have protested the dumping over fears that the four-meter-thick silt will cause the major river to burst its banks in the rainy season.

    The mud mass has reached between two and five meters from the top of the river, visibly spanning 1 kilometer from its point of entry near the defunct Gempol Toll road bridge in Besuki, Jabon district.

    The mud has even reached as far as Pejarakan village, 18 km downstream of the dumping site.

    “People protested the dumping because the sediment has reached a dangerous level. The river water cannot flow and could burst the banks to engulf the residents’ houses,” Kupang village head Sudjarwo said.

    He said villagers had asked the National Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Team (BPLS) to dredge the sediment ahead of seasonal rains to avoid flooding in the area.

    He said if the BPLS refused to remove the clogged mud, the 15 villages would possibly see floods in the rainy season.

    The 15 affected villages are Kedungcangkring, Pejarakan, Dukuhsari, Besuki, Keboguyang, Permisan, Jemirahan, Pangreh, Trompo Asri, Balongtani, Kupang, Kedungrejo, Semambung, Kalisogo and Kedungpandan, all in Jabon district.

    Experts and environmental groups, including the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, have heavily criticized the dumping, saying it could have severe environmental repercussions.

    BPLS spokesman Achmad Zulkarnain claimed the mitigation team had cleared a channel in the river using four floating excavators to increase the water’s flow.

    “We are also concentrating on repairing the main banks which collapsed due to Monday and Tuesday’s rallies. We hope residents do not block the work as it’s for the common interest,” Zulkarnain said.

    Hundreds of mudflow victims shut down a reconstruction site at the Porong mudflow area Monday, demanding mining company Lapindo Brantas Inc. pay the remaining 80 percent compensation owed them as ordered by a presidential instruction.

    Protesters grabbed tools from construction workers, prevented others from operating cranes working the main mudflow banks and stopped supply trucks from entering the site.

    A presidential Instruction No. 14/2007, issued one year after the erupting mud began to submerse villages on May 29, 2006, orders Lapindo to pay the remaining compensation owed residents one month before the end of a two-year house leasing arrangement ends.

    The company, partly owned by the family of Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, has paid out 20 percent of the required compensation to allow mudflow victims to rent houses.

    Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/08/28/lapindo-silt-feared-trigger-major-flooding.html

  • Santos Stuck in Mudflow Controversy

    SIDOARJO, INDONESIA– Santos is facing a blowout in the clean-up bill from the world’s largest mud volcano in East Java, as a new report funded by the Australian government concludes the disaster cannot be contained.

    The study, which was conducted by the United Nations Environment Program and AusAid and is yet to be made public, says transporting the mud 14 kilometres to the ocean and creating a new wetland is the only titigation option available.

    These updated costings of as much as $830 million are nearly 10 times higher than Santos has disclosed to the stockmarket, leading to accusations that the oil and gas major is deliberately playing down the severity of the disaster.

    The UN report also estimates the total economic losses from the mudflow so far at $3,4 billion.

    Santos has yet to admit liability for the disaster, which began after a drilling incident in May 2006, and it had paid almost no compensation to the 75,000 affected.

    “I don’t think there is wide public understanding of the magnitude of this problem,” says Tim Lindsay, director of the Asian Law Centre at Melbourne University.

    “If the projections are correct, it will be catastrophic for any company held responsible.”

    Santos has made provisions of just $88.5 million for the mudflow, which has now affected 1800 hectares of densely populated land in East Java.

    In a statement the company said it would not comment on the UN report, but believed its provisions remained an “appropriate estimate of its potential liability.”

    “The government of Indonesia has taken a major role in responding to the mudflow,” it said in a written statement.

    In its 2007 annual report Santos said its provisions were based on an assumption that “condition at the site will remain stable or improve over the longer term.”

    This is clearly not the case,” says John McLachlan-Karr, an Australian consultant leading the UN team.

    He says retaining walls at the site have failed three times this year and on current projections, the dams will overflow in 2009. This has forced the Indonesian government mitigation team to earmark another 110 hectares for mud lay-down areas, but this is viewed as only a temporary solution.

    The mud pools are growing by 20 olympic size swimming pools every day and the weight could make the area subside by 146 metres in the next decade.

    “It is true to say the volume of mud has declined somewhat but the retaining walls and geology of the area has become less stable,” McLachlan-Karr says.

    “If anything, the impacts are actually increasing.”

    It is this assumption that led the UN team of 12 scientists and engineers to conclude that the mud must be moved. Their 122 page report, commissioned by the Indonesian government, was compiled over the past 12 months. It outlines three possible courses of action. “There is, however, no easy answer,” McLachlan-Karr says.

    One option is to pipe the mud to the sea but there are concerns that the material is too viscous and the pumps would not be able to move the required volume.

    The second option is to pump the mud into a nearby river, which would then be dredged and dumped along the coast. But there is strong local opposition to this method and concern about the increased flood risk.

    Both these options would cost about $1,( billion over the next 25 years, according to the UN report.

    The final option is to build an open canal that would then transport the mud slowly to the ocean. This is the most expensive at $4,6 billion as land, including many shrimp farms, would have to be purchased.

    Santos, despite not admitting any liability for the disaster, is already paying its share of mitigation and clean-up costs, while maintaining the mud flow cause had “yet to be determined.”

    Santos has an 18 percent non operation stake in PT Lapindo Brantas, which experienced drilling problems near the site the day before the mud volcano erupted. Presuming it continued paying 18 percent of mitigation costs, Santos is facing a clean-up bill of between $355 million and $829 million over the next 25 years, according to the UN report.

    The UN team was not asked to determine the mudflow’s cause.

    This is a highly controversial subject in Indonesia, as a company associated with the country’s richest man, Aburizal Bakrie, is Lapindo’s major stakeholder. Bakrie, who is also one of the government’s most powerful ministers and a close allay of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has maintained the mudflow was triggered by an earthquake.

    This has been universally discredited.

    A team of British, US and Indonesian scientists said in June they were “99 percent certain” that drilling caused the disaster. Their findings were published in the academic journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

    Michael Manga of the University of California Berkeley rules out the Yogyakarta earthquake as a potential cause, saying it happened two days before and was 250 kilometres away.

    “In this case the earthquake was simply too small and too far away,” Manga says.

    The report’s lead author, Richard Davies of Durham University, says a “kick” in the well a day before the mudflow erupted resulted in an underground blow-out and a leakage of fluid. He says the chances of controlling this pressure would have increased if the well had contained more protective casing.

    This lack of protective casing raises the issues of negligence and liability.

    So far Santos has spent $US28,5 million ($34,9 million) on mitigation and clean-up efforts. A spokesman for the company said it had paid a small amount of compensation to victims, but would not disclose the figure.

    Bakrie has not admitted any liability for the disaster either, but due to “Indonesian values” has pledged to pay 4 trillion rupiahs ($526 million) in compensation. So far he is estimated to have handed over about 20 percent of this to those affected.

    But this is just a fraction of what the UN estimates the total damages to be. McLachlan-Karr says his team has calculated total economic loss caused by the mudflow, not including mitigation, at RP26 trillion as of April.

    Attempts to recoup these losses have so far been rejected by Indonesia’s notoriously corrupt lower courts. A class action by Friends of the Earth Indonesia has twice been rejected and is at present under appeal with the High Court, which ranks above the High Court in Indonesia.

    But Lindsay from Melbourne University says these early court decisions are irrelevant. He says the merits of the case will be decided when it reaches the Supreme Court, which ranks above the High Court in Indonesia.

    “The Supreme Court knows, understands and has been trained in class actions,” Lindsay says. “It is an increasingly impressive institution that has been making good decisions.” He says there will be serious legal implications for those found responsible.

    And whit each day the mud continues flowing, the potential damage get larger.

    Flooding during the wet season has been raised as yet another problem.

    McLachlan-Karr says the pumping of mud into a nearby river during the dry season has silted up the waterway and raised concerns about flooding.

    “They shouldn’t be pumping in the dry season but they literally ran out of space in the holding dams and so had no other option,” he says. “It’s not good but compared to the alternative, the consequences are relatively minor.”

    But then there’s the issue of subsidence.

    Davies from Durham University says the mudflow area could subside by 146 metres over the next 10 years.

    “That’s the worst case scenario,” he says, but no one can be sure of what impact this may have on the surrounding area.

    “This thing continues to surprise us so who’s to say what will happen next or how long it might last.”

    After more than two years, Davies says, the pressure causing the eruption has not lessened.

    “It will most likely carry on in some form for decades to come. The area will provide an interesting case study for scientists, but apart from that the land is worthless.

    (Angus Grigg)

    (c) The Australian Financial Review – ABIX via COMTEX

  • Kontrak Bantuan Sosial Dinilai Merugikan Warga

    Warga harus meninggalkan lokasi setelah tiga bulan meneken kontrak

    SURABAYA – Korban lumpur Lapindo dari Desa Kedungcangkring, Pejarakan, dan Desa Besuki Barat di Kecamatan Jabon, Sidoarjo, tidak bersedia menandatangani akad perjanjian pemberian uang paket bantuan sosial. “Terus terang kami keberatan karena ada satu pasal yang memberatkan,” kata Nurrohim, koordinator warga, kemarin.

    Pasal tersebut berbunyi, “Warga yang tinggal di wilayah tanggul lumpur wajib meninggalkan tempat maksimal 90 hari setelah penandatanganan kontrak”. Padahal, selama ini tidak ada kepastian kapan bantuan tersebut akan dicairkan.

    Rencananya, jika warga bersedia meneken kontrak pemberian bantuan sosial, warga akan menerima uang Rp 2,5 juta per keluarga (untuk kontrak rumah satu tahun), Rp 500 ribu untuk pindah rumah, dan bantuan Rp 300 ribu per jiwa per bulan (selama enam bulan berturut). Formulir pemberian bantuan ini telah dibagikan oleh Badan Penanggulangan Lumpur Sidoarjo (BPLS) sejak Jumat lalu.

    Menurut Nurrohim, warga tidak bersedia menandatangani pemberian bantuan sosial itu karena mereka tidak memperoleh kejelasan kapan ganti rugi tersebut dibayarkan. “Jangankan kapan dibayar, berapa nilainya saja kami belum diberi tahu,” tutur Rohim.

    Karena ketidakjelasan itu, Rohim menambahkan, warga yang terdiri atas 800 keluarga dari Desa Besuki, 300 keluarga dari Desa Kedungcangkring, serta 500 keluarga dari Desa Pejarakan hingga kini belum bersedia menandatangani akta perjanjian.

    Kepala Hubungan Masyarakat BPLS, Ahmad Zulkarnain, meminta warga tidak usah ragu dan khawatir. Apalagi apa yang dikhawatirkan warga tidak mendasar. “Ketika proses penandatanganan, juga ada proses pembuatan rekening di Bank. Saya jamin dalam waktu dua hari, bantuan sudah cair,” kata Zulkarnain.

    Karenan itu, Zulkarnain berharap warga segera mengisi semua persyaratan dalam akta pemberian bantuan dengan melengkapi fotokopi KTP, KSK, dan buku nikah.

    Menurut Zulkarnain, selain jumlah nominal bantuan, nilai ganti rugi bagi warga tiga desa itu juga sudah jelas, yaitu sama dengan nominal ganti rugi warga di dalam peta terdampak seperti yang diberikan kepada empat Desa di Kecamatan Porong, yaitu Siring, Jatirejo, Renokenongo, dan Kedungbendo.

    Warga di empat desa itu mendapatkan ganti rugi per meter bangunan Rp 1,5 juta, Rp 1 juta per meter persegi tanah pekarangan, serta Rp 120 ribu untuk per meter persegi sawah.

    “Sesuai dengan amanat anggaran pendapatan belanja negara perubahan dan pernyataan Menteri Keuangan, maka uang muka 20 persen harus dibayar pada 2008 ini,” kata Zulkarnain.

    Sisa pembayaran 80 persen, kata dia, sesuai dengan Perpres 48 Tahun 2008 yang mengacu pada Perpres 14 Tahun 2007 akan dibayar maksimal hingga 2010 nanti.

    ROHMAN TAUFIQ

    Sumber: http://www.korantempo.com/korantempo/koran/2008/09/16/Berita_Utama_-_Jatim/krn.20080916.142522.id.html

  • Santos Denies Poor Attitude Over Mud Mountain

    Australian oil and gas giant Santos has denied playing down the seriousness of a mud mountain, which it allegedly helped to create.

    The company, responding to a report on the unstoppable mudflow that was caused by a gas drilling incident in Indonesia in 2006, said it rejected suggestions that it has understated the severity of that incident.

    According to reliable reports from the UN and Australian governments, the disaster has so far caused economic damage of AUD$3.4 billion dollars to Indonesian land.

    Santos has declared provisions of just AUD$88.5 million dollars to the Australian Stock Exchange to cover the clean-up cost.

    Santos has not admitted any liability for the disaster.

    Foreign scientists in Indonesia have found the mud mountain was caused by drilling by an oil and gas firm linked to the scheme.

    (c) Sri Lanka Source

  • Santos Denies Playing Down Indonesia Mud Volcano Disaster

    SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian oil and gas giant Santos on Monday denied downplaying the seriousness of the disaster caused by the world’s largest “mud volcano” in Indonesia.

    The company was responding to a report that said it faced a ten-fold blowout of the clean-up bill from the unstoppable mudflow that was caused by a gas drilling incident in East Java in 2006.

    “Santos rejects any suggestion that it has understated the severity of that incident,” the company said in a statement.

    The company’s shares fell 3.6 percent following news of the clean-up cost of the area near Java’s second-largest city of Surabaya.

    Fairfax newspapers quoted a leaked report by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and Australia’s government aid body AusAid as saying the disaster has so far caused economic damage of 3.4 billion dollars and could be contained.

    The study reportedly said the only way to mitigate the disaster would be to transport the mud 14 kilometers (8.75 miles) to the ocean to create a wetland, which would send the cost skyrocketing to 4.6 billion dollars.

    The mudflow could cost Santos 830 million dollars (681,762 US), the report said, while the firm has declared provisions of just 88.5 million dollars to the Australian Stock Exchange to cover the clean-up cost.

    The company, which has an 18 percent stake in a gas operation at the site, refused to comment on the UNEP report but said it believed that its declared provisions would be adequate.

    “Given the conditions at site and current activities being conducted, Santos believes that the provision remains an appropriate estimate of its potential liability associated with the incident.

    “As Santos has indicated previously, the situation remains dynamic, complex and uncertain. Santos will continue to review the adequacy of the provision in light of developments and available information,” the company added.

    Santos has not admitted any liability for the disaster.

    Santos shares were off 0.71 dollars, or 3.6 percent, in late trade at 18.66 dollars following the report.

    A study by foreign scientists in Indonesia has found the mud volcano was caused by drilling by oil and gas firm Lapindo Brantas, which holds a 50 percent stake in the scheme.

    (c) AFP

  • Santos Responds to Sidoarjo Mudflow Incident Report

    Monday, September 15, 2008 – Santos notes the article published in this morning’s Australian Financial Review containing speculation regarding its exposure to Sidoarjo mudflow incident in East Java. Santos rejects any suggestion that it has understated the severity of that incident.

    The Government of Indonesia has taken a major role in responding to the mudflow. Following from the national task force appointed to address the incident in 2006, the President of Indonesia established the Sidoarjo Mud Mitigation Agency in April 2007 with a long-term mandate to manage the issues associated with the incident. It has been doing so actively. Whilst the Agency is responsible for the ongoing response to and management of the incident, the incident remains a matter of significant concern to Santos.

    Santos has a non-operating 18% interest in the Brantas Production Sharing Contract. Lapindo, as Operator, continues to participate in all operations at the site. However, Santos has been supporting the efforts of the Agency and Lapindo and continues to believe that a resolution may ultimately be reached between all relevant parties.

    Santos is not in a position to comment specifically on the UNEP report. However, given the conditions at site and current activities being conducted, Santos believes that the provision remains an appropriate estimate of its potential liability associated with the incident. As Santos has indicated previously, the situation remains dynamic, complex and uncertain. Santos will continue to review the adequacy of the provision in light of developments and available information.

    © Oil Voice

  • Santos Defends $US79M For Indonesian Clean-up

    SANTOS has rejected suggestions that the $US79 million it has set aside to pay for its share of the Indonesian mudflow disaster is inadequate.

    CAMERON ENGLAND, September 15, 2008 11:30pm

    Reports yesterday quoted a United Nations Environment Program report, which said Santos’ share of the clean-up costs for the disaster could run as high as $830 million.

    UNEP spokesman Nick Nuttal yesterday cautioned that the report was “very much in draft form”.

    “Thus any findings released publicly now simply cannot be endorsed by UNEP, neither can any of the assertions, suggestions, observations or recommendations reported in the Australian press,” he said via email from Nairobi.

    Santos was a non-operating 18 per cent partner in drilling for gas at Sidoarjo in Indonesia, which experts say probably triggered a well blow-out and the subsequent mudflow disaster.

    The drilling at the site was conducted by Lapindo Brantas – part of a conglomerate owned by one of Indonesia’s richest families, of which People’s Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie is a member.

    The mud has continued to flow since the incident in May, 2006, and was estimated recently to be averaging 100,000 cubic meters a day.

    The mud has so far displaced an estimated 40,000 people and threatens another 60,000.

    The Jakarta Post has reported that a government investigation has not yet decided whether the disaster had natural or human-induced causes.

    A decision in the South Jakarta District Court late last year, which is being appealed, cited natural causes as the most likely cause of the incident.

    In the August edition of Geology, researchers including Australian academic Mark Tingay rejected the hypothesis that an earthquake was responsible, saying an earthquake at the time was too small and too far away to be the cause.

    A report on website Tempo Interactive on Saturday quoted Priyo Budi Santoso, deputy-chief of Indonesia’s House of Representatives, as saying that the Lapindo Mudflow Monitoring Team has “not done its job optimally”, with 98 new sources of mudflow discovered.

    Lapindo Brantas spokesman, Imam Agustino, was quoted as saying the company had disbursed 4.4 trillion rupiah ($582 million) in managing the mudflow.

    The Government has also reportedly allocated 1.194 trillion rupiah ($158 million) to manage the problem in 2009.

    © Adelaide Now

  • Institute Offers to Plug Mud Leaks

    The 10 November Institute of Technology (ITS) in Surabaya is offering a new solution to control the hot mudflows at the Lapindo Brantas Inc. mining site in Porong and a new way to manage the dumping of mudflow waste.

    The new technology was invented and developed by an ITS team of experts in cooperation with the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) and United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID).

    ITS team leader I Nyoman Sutantra said the technology was based on the Bernoulli Theory.

    It would stop the flows by rerouting the hot mudflow through a dam of pipes of 50 centimeters in diameter and 50 meters in height, each erected right on the source of the flow, he said.

    The flow, he added, would go back down the pipes to be diverted, once it reached their top end.

    “We have conducted research and a series of experiments to analyze the validity of the idea. We are confident this could deal with the mudflow,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

    He said his team, in cooperation with the private sector, was ready to finance the implementation of the solution to control the mudflow that has badly affected local residents and the provincial economy.

    The new technological solution comes following a series of failures of other technologies previously proposed to stop the mudflow, including the insertion of stone balls into the holes and various methods suggested to divert the flow.

    Regarding the method that his team has proposed to deal with the mudflow, Sutantra said it was designed to prevent further destruction of the environment and possible flash flooding during the rainy season.

    The team sees the current handling by the Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) as being not effective enough, since the mudflow is partly dumped into a giant pond and partly diverted into the Porong River.

    This, according to his team, has damaged the environment and could trigger flash flooding in the city during the rainy season.

    Since October, 2006, the volume of mudflow containing oil and gas and dumped into the river has reached 69 million cubic meters.

    This has formed a layer of sediment four meters thick on the riverbed, thus reducing its depth and causing it to overflow, producing odorous gases in the surrounding areas.

    “What we want to introduce is to divert the hot mud to the downstream wetlands, where shrimp ponds belonging to villagers are located,” Sutantra said.

    The mudflow, he said, could be rerouted through 20-kilometer pipelines to the wetlands. “Then we will no longer need to dump the hot mud to the storage pond or the river,” he added.

    The new dump site, he said, could be planted with mangroves that could absorb the salt content and toxic substances in the hot mud and the site could later be developed into farmland.

    “This will be the best alternative win-win solution and the safest way to salvage the environment and help save the Surabaya residents from a possible environmental and social disaster,” he said.

    “But this will be very costly as the development of the dump site requires the acquisition of thousands of hectares of shrimp and fish ponds belonging to local people,” he added.

    Sutantra also said that should the method be applied, the current giant pond could be developed into a residential complex and apartments to help the housing crisis in the capital city.

    Meanwhile, the BPLS deputy chairman overseeing operational affairs, Soffian Hadi, said the current disposal of hot mud into the river was an effective way of dealing with the problem.

    The sediments, he assured, would be washed out to sea by the rains in the coming rainy season.

    Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post

    Sumber: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/09/17/institute-offers-plug-mud-leaks.html

  • Santos says has provisions for clean-up bill

    Santos Ltd has rejected suggestions that it is facing a ten-fold cost blow-out in its clean-up of the world’s largest mud volcano in East Java.

    The oil and gas giant dismissed media speculation that it has understated the severtity of the incident, saying “given the conditions at site and current activities being conducted…existing provisions remain an appropriate estimate of its potential liability associated with the incident.”

    Santos was responding to a study, leaked to Fairfax newspapers, which said the only way to mitigate the disaster, resulting from a drilling incident in May 2006, was to transport the mud 14 kilometres to the ocean to create a wetland, estimated to cost between $1.9 billion and $4.6 billion over 25 years.

    The local company’s share of the bill would come to between $355 and $829 million, the report said.

    Santos said “the situation remains dynamic, complex and uncertain, and the company will continue to review the adequacy of the provision in light of developments and available information.”

    Santos owns an 18 per cent non-operating stake in PT Lapindo Brantas, which reported drilling problems a day before the eruption.

    Santos has yet to admit liability and has been accused of downplaying the disaster, which has been said is likely to cost the company 10 times more than it has revealed to the stock market.

    Tim Lindsay, director of the Asian Law Centre at Melbourne University, said most of the public does not understand the magnitude of the problem.

    “If the projections are correct, it will be catastrophic for any company held responsible,” Professor Lindsay told Fairfax.

  • Lapindo Mudflow Problem Badly Managed

    TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta –  Priyo Budi Santoso, deputy-chief of the House of Representatives’ (DPR) Lapindo Mud Flow Monitoring Team said 98 new sources of mud flow had been discovered. “The Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Agency has not done its job optimally,” he said during a session with the chairman of the agency’s board of directors and PT Lapindo Brantas at the DPR yesterday.

    The 98 new sources will make the work of controlling the mud flow even more difficult, Priyo said. The worst impacted villages are Jatirejo, Mindi and West Siring. “We have not received information on how the problem is being managed,” he said.

    The DPR team suggested agency includes the three affected villages in their mapping. The villagers should be evacuated to avoid the toxic gas coming out. “The National Budget (APBN) must make provisions to cover the costs for villages that are not in the map,” said Priyo, who led the meeting.

    The agency’s chairman, Djoko Kirmanto, explained that only 50 sources out of the 98 were active. The result of an analysis indicated that the mudflow will be stop by 2009.

    However, Kirmanto is of the opinion that the disaster will continue to happen for a longer period, possibly spearing to even more and larger areas. Hence, with the addition of the three villages, Kirmanto said, the government will have to amend the Presidential Decree No. 14/2007.

    According to Sunarso, chief of the Sidoarjo Mudflow Management Team, the government had allocated Rp 1,194 trillion to manage the problem in 2009. “The Finance Minister has approved it,” he said. Half of the fund – approved in June 10, 2008 — will be used for social welfare activities.

    Meanwhile, PT Lapindo Brantas spokesman, Imam Agustino, claims the company had disbursed Rp 4,4 trillion in managing the mudflow. “This is what we have spent since May 29, 2006 so far,” he said. Around Rp 873 billion was used to cover the mudflow holes, Rp 348 billion to provide for social compensation and the rest for land rehabilitation. “We also spent some amount for buying and selling land,” he added.

    To pay compensation to 20 percent of the victims, he said Lapindo had paid out Rp 650 billion in response to 12,061 applications. Out of the remaining 80 percent, Imam said, the company had compensated 35 percent of the applicants as of August this year. He claimed the company had fulfilled its obligations.

    DWI RIYANTO | RIEKA RAHADIANA | ISMI WAHID

  • NGOs slam govt over mudflow

    Nongovernmental organizations on Thursday threw their support behind mudflow victims from Sidoarjo, East Java, by urging the government to compensate them before the post-Ramadan holiday of Idul Fitri at the latest.

    As many as 24 Jakarta-based NGOs, grouped under the Coalition of Justice for Lapindo Mudflow Victims, criticized the government for “neglecting” the fate of those displaced by the sludge that has devastated the area since May 2006.

    Some 25 representatives of the victims met with the coalition at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) headquarters in Jakarta to seek the NGOs’ backing for their demands.

    “We ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take stern measures to resolve the fate of Sidoarjo mudflow victims,” coalition coordinator Usman Hamid told the meeting.

    “The President must also be brave and ask all relevant parties, including his minister responsible for this matter, to complete payment of compensation before Idul Fitri.”

    The representatives, from 10 villages in Sidoarjo, arrived in Jakarta on Friday to push for a clear response over compensation payments, which have yet to be completed two years after the disaster struck.

    During their stay in Jakarta, they met with Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto and representatives from the Social Services Ministry and the National Land Agency.

    The representatives also met with politicians and legislators from several parties, including the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

    “The Democratic Party and the Golkar Party rejected our request for separate meetings,” said Sep Muhammad, one of the representatives.

    The mudflow victims will return to Sidoarjo on Friday after the President turned down their appeal for a dialog.

    © Jakarta Post

  • Lapindo mudflow threatens Japanese investment

    The prolonged mudflow disaster has threatened East Java’s chances of attracting foreign investment, particularly from Japan, a local official says.

    The issue has become a major problem, discussed at a meeting of the Japan Club in Surabaya last week, chairman of the East Java Investment Board (BPM) Djoni Irianto told The Jakarta Post here Tuesday.

    A number of Japanese investors had expressed interest in the province, but decided to hold back until they receive a satisfactory explanation to at least three of their four questions regarding the disaster, he added.

    “We were given until Friday to respond to their questions,” Djoni said.

    The three questions concern the relocation of a section of the Surabaya-Gempol toll road, land subsidence on the Porong artery road and the possible overflow of Porong River, into which the mud has flown, he added.

    A forth question concerned the possible threat of avian flu, especially given outbreaks across Indonesia over the past four years. A leak that began on June 29, 2006 at Lapindo Brantas Inc.’s mining site became a mudflow disaster that has thus far buried at least four villages, displacing some 13,000 villagers.

    The mudflow has also damaged Porong highway, a railway line, and the Gempol toll road, causing soil subsidence at the disaster site.

    Many Japanese investors in Pasuruan have had to spend more on production costs, particularly to transport products and raw materials as a result of the damaged road, Japan Club chairman Hajime Matsuda sat at the meeting.

    “That has made it difficult to compete with companies in Sidoarjo and Gresik, two other industrial zones in the province,” Djoni quoted Hajime as saying.

    Around 80 Japanese investors actively involved in the new Pasuruan industrial zone expressed their commitment to retain workers despite the overburdening transportation problem, Djoni added.

    “We are proud of the investors’ commitment because many have repatriated their experts and senior staff instead of dismissing low-income workers, to cope with the additional transportation costs,” he said.

    The congested Porong artery and toll roads are the only links connecting Pasuruan with the port and the provincial capital, he added.

    Japanese investors want the industrial zone to provide an integrated service center, including for tax and excise examinations and for investment permits, Djoni said.

    With such a center, they could begin operations relatively quickly, despite having to pay extra.

    “That is why BPM sought a deadline from the government on the completion of the toll road relocation, the handling of bird flu and other issues that could make foreign investors reluctant to invest in the province,” Djoni said.

    BPM established an investment clinic last month to provide accurate information on whatever foreign investors need to know to invest in the province, he added.

    Djoni was confident more foreign investors will be attracted to the province, which he described as an excellent alternative investment destination, after Jakarta and Riau.

    In actuality, East Java is not trying to compete with those areas, but with Malaysia and Thailand, especially because the province’s infrastructure and regulatory environment are considered business-friendly to foreign investors, with the government working hard to eliminate barriers and costs, he added.

    The province has continued developing its potential in the provision of raw materials for mining, agribusiness and trading, a new sector that has attracted many Chinese investors, Djoni said.

    “Entering their second semester this year, Chinese investors have been taking the lead in the trading sector with 60 percent of their investments, worth US$54.2 million,” he added.

    The US$29.5 million in Japanese investment comes fourth, after Singapore’s $214 million and South Korea’s $40.3 million, he said.

    For the past eight months, the provincial government has issued investment permits for 45 foreign investors, in addition to expanding permits for 19 others in Gresik, Sidoarjo, Pamekasan, Malang and Tuban.

    Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

  • Mudflow victims urge govt to complete payment

    Victims of the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster urged the government to speed up compensation payments to them, following a new agreement between them and government representatives last week.

    On Tuesday, the victims’ lawyer, Paring Waluyo Utomo, said they were demanding concrete actions to realize the agreement, despite government assurances that the disbursement would be expedited.

    Some 25 representatives from 10 villages in Sidoarjo, East Java, came to Jakarta on Friday to seek certainty about the compensation, which has yet to be completed two years after the disaster struck.

    The representatives are staying at the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

    On Friday, they met with Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto and representatives from the Social Services Ministry, National Land Agency, PT Lapindo Brantas and PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, in which the parties drew up a new agreement.

    One of the main points in the agreement obliges Lapindo to immediately complete the payment of 20 percent of the required compensation to the victims, whose lands were engulfed by the mudflow.

    It also stipulated the remaining 80 percent should be paid before the end of a two-year house leasing arrangement.

    “The victims are not satisfied with the promises in the agreement. They want it to be truly realized. Many victims have not received the 20 percent installment, let alone the 80 percent,” Paring said after a press conference at Komnas HAM headquarters.

    “We are seeking more support to force the government and Lapindo to finalize this, including from Komnas HAM and the House of Representatives.” He said the victims no longer wanted to deal with PT Lapindo Brantas and PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya and would leave the government to deal with them.

    “We can’t force Lapindo (to pay), so we will leave it to the government, which has the power,” he said. He said the victims would monitor the implementation of the agreement at the site.

    “We will sue if they fail to comply with it,” Paring said.

    The agreement also stipulates the government will provide a clean water facility and build drainage for villagers whose lands were not included in the map of affected zones.

    Paring said the villagers also demanded the government immediately issue a revised 2007 presidential instruction that includes all victims in the map, thus entitling them to compensation.

    Mahmuda, a victim from Renokenongo village, said the representatives would stay in Jakarta until they had secured the government’s promise to undertake its responsibility toward them.

    She also said they wished to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to demand their rights be upheld.

    “We don’t know how long we will stay here, but we really expect to meet the President. He is our only hope because he is the one who issued the policy,” she said.

    “We want to know how much attention he pays in ensuring our rights are upheld.”

    Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

  • Mudflow submerges Renokenongo

    SIDOARJO: Renokenongo, one of the four villages flooded by Lapindo Brantas’ mudflow in May, 2006, was inundated by a mudflow from the overflowing giant pool in Porong, Sidoarjo, threatening hundreds of victims who were still holding out in the village and have yet to receive compensation either from the mining company or the government.

    The Sidoarjo Mudflow Handling Agency (BPLS) called on Lapindo to pay compensation to the Renokenongo residents so that they can move to safe areas in the regency.

    BPLS spokesman Achmad Zulkarnain said the overflowing pool was caused by the subsidence of soil in the disaster location and the possible solution was to build an outer embankment to prevent the mudflow from destroying the remaining houses in the village.

    Andi Darussalam Tabusalla, vice president of PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, a unit of Lapindo, called on villagers to remain patient because his company was committed to paying compensation to the victims for their damaged assets.

    “It’s our social responsibility to pay the compensation for the victims,” he said. —JP

  • Komnas HAM Siapkan Rekomendasi

    Jakarta, Kompas – Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia sedang menyiapkan rekomendasi terkait korban semburan lumpur Lapindo di Sidoarjo, Jawa Timur. Kini, hasil investigasi itu dalam analisa tim.

    ”Pengumuman resmi setelah pembahasan di rapat paripurna Komnas HAM,” kata anggota Komnas HAM Bidang Submediasi, Kabul Supriyadhie, seusai jumpa pers bersama perwakilan warga korban lumpur yang telah lima hari menginap di Kantor Komnas HAM, Selasa (2/9).

    Menurut Kabul, rekomendasi Komnas HAM tak jauh dari persoalan kemanusiaan akibat semburan lumpur dan penanganannya. Namun, ia enggan merinci lebih jauh.

    Lima hari lalu, atas permintaan warga, Komnas HAM juga memediasi pertemuan warga dengan pemerintah (Departemen Pekerjaan Umum, Departemen Sosial, dan Badan Pertanahan Nasional).

    Beberapa kesepakatan, di antaranya, mendukung penyelesaian pembayaran 20 persen dan 80 persen, serta adanya pengikatan jual beli bagi warga pemegang bukti kepemilikan tanah berupa petok D, letter C, dan SK Gogol. Tak hanya bagi warga pemegang sertifikat hak atas tanah (SHM).

    “”Dalam kondisi seperti di Porong, saya kira hukum-hukum teknis jual beli pertanahan tidak dapat diberlakukan seperti keadaan normal,”” kata Kabul. Hal itu pula yang diserukan warga.

    Kesepakatan pemerintah dengan warga juga menyangkut nasib warga di luar peta terdampak, yakni menyediakan fasilitas air bersih, perhatian kesehatan, dan pendidikan.

    Kepada wartawan, perwakilan korban, M Ilyas, menyatakan ketidakpuasan mereka terhadap penanganan pascasemburan lumpur.

    Sesuai Perpres No 14/2007, pembayaran uang muka 20 persen bagi korban lumpur mestinya sudah tuntas. Demikian pula sisa 80 persen yang dijadwalkan tuntas satu bulan sebelum dua tahun masa kontrak habis. Namun, masalah ini belum selesai. (GSA)

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