President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made a scathing criticism of the poor handling of the Sidoarjo mudflow by the gas exploration firm PT Minarak Lapindo Jaya, partly owned by the family of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
Andi Arief, special assistant to the President for disaster mitigation and social assistance disclosed that Yudhoyono had criticized Lapindo for failing to settle the problem of compensation for all mudflow victims in Sidoarjo, East Java, during a meeting with some Cabinet members and high-ranking officials on Saturday. (more…)