Resolving the muddy conflict of interest in Sidoarjo

It started with tears and anger from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and high expectations from victims of the mudflow disaster and those who care about them. But it ended full of disappointment.

When the President cried Sunday with a group of victims, then called a Cabinet meeting on Monday and flew to Surabaya later in the day, camping there for two nights, people had high expectations the President would come up with a breakthrough to the mudflow problem. He did not.

Yudhoyono only ordered Lapindo Brantas Inc., the company at the center of the disaster, to speed up compensation payments to the thousands of displaced people in Sidoarjo, East Java.

That's disappointing for two reasons. The President's orders have no legal consequence. What if Lapindo does not heed the order or what if it cannot meet the deadline? Will the government penalize Lapindo financially or will Yudhoyono send company executives to jail?

Second, continuously pitting the suffering victims against Lapindo, a company they passionately hate, is an irresponsible act on the part of the government. People's anger toward Lapindo is beyond words because to them, Lapindo not only flooded their properties with mud, but also took away their livelihoods.

Equally, asking Lapindo to face the thousands of angry victims is not fair for the gas company, whose fault in this disaster has not been proven. The compensation itself is complicated because many of the victims do not have proper proof of ownership for their property.

So, it would be rational for the government to take over the compensation for the victims, and then charge Lapindo later for the costs. Yet, the government does not want to take on that responsibility.

True, taking over compensation payments for victims from Lapindo would be a potentially politically explosive move, because many politicians would see it as the government bankrolling Lapindo.

If we look at the whole affair surrounding the mudflow crisis, all the problems stem from a serious lack of credibility. The government's handling of the disaster lacks credibility because there is a serious conflict of interest there.

The conflict of interest lies here: Lapindo Brantas is or was owned by a company controlled by the Bakrie family. Aburizal Bakrie, a key member of the Bakrie family, is coordinating minister for people's welfare, who in theory is responsible for taking care of the victims.

Because of this conflict of interest, Aburizal cannot perform his duty properly. That Aburizal has never visited the victims, not even joining the President on his two trips to Sidoarjo, shows he carries a serious handicap in carrying out his ministerial duties.

The fact that Yudhoyono has kept Aburizal in the Cabinet, despite the blatant conflict of interest, even protecting him by not exposing him to the handling of mudflow problems, has led many to believe that Yudhoyono cannot afford to lose the support of this former businessman. There is much suspicion that Yudhoyono badly needs Aburizal's financial support for his reelection bid in 2009.

Allowing such a conflict of interest to remain unresolved is bad for both Yudhoyono and Aburizal, and most of all for the handling of the mudflow problem, because any government action will continue to lack credibility. This will only ease the path for lawmakers in the House of Representatives to proceed with their effort to censure the President over this affair.

To resolve the conflict of interest, Yudhoyono needs to take bold action and remove close ally Aburizal from the Cabinet. Or, if that is too embarrassing, Aburizal should come forward and tender his resignation, and do the noble thing and take responsibility for helping the victims in Sidoarjo.

When the conflict of interest is resolved, government efforts to solve the mudflow affair will regain credibility. The President can then face the possible House censure in a more dignified manner and possibly his popularity will improve; Aburizal can spend the rest of his life devoted to a better cause; and most of all, the displaced people in Sidoarjo will have new hope. ( The Jakarta Post )

PT Lapindo must be responsible for overflowing hot mud: President

Sidoarjo, East Java (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Friday oil and gas exploration company PT Lapindo Brantas` leaderships must be responsible for the overflow of hot mud that came for the first time from its gas exploration site on May 29.
"PT Lapindo Brantas must be responsible for this disaster," the head of state told thousands of people who fell victim to the hot mud.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa, Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah and Investment Coordinating Body chairman Muhammad Lutfi accompanied Yudhoyono in his meeting with the people who took refuge in Porong area.

Before holding the dialog with the refugees president made an aerial observation aboard a helicopter on a wide area which was inundated by the hot mud.

Yudhoyono said the government would certainly handle the disaster by heightening embankment set up to keep the hot mud from further overflowing other areas.

Some 6,000 people in Siring village were evacuated to safer grounds after a dike broke down on Thursday.

He said the central government and the East Java administration would make use of high technology to raise the five meter-high embankments.

"I have received reports on efforts to stop the hot mud from further flowing to residential areas," he said.

President who was flanked by Environment Minister Rahmat Witoelar said the government would deploy Indonesian Defense Forces personnel to help handle the calamity.

President then extended Rp1 billion (US$100,000) in assistance to the Sidoardjo district administration and visited a communal kitchen which was set up by the Brawijaya district military command for the hot mud victims.

The district military command deployed 73 personnel to help cook meal for 8,721 refugees.

The military personnel who cooked 900 kg of chicken meat, 550 kg of cow meat, and 5 tons of rice as well as boiled 4,000 liters of water for the refugees had served the hot mud victims since June 16.

PT Lapindo Brantas provided the military personnel with Rp500 million each day to cook the meal. (*)

THE VICTIM OF MUD VOLCANO LAPINDO DISASTER: Who will be responsible....?

THE VICTIM OF MUD VOLCANO LAPINDO DISASTER: Who will be responsible....?

Highway also gone with the wind....ee mud !

A Greenpeace team went to Sidoarjo to independently verify the extent of damage caused by the mud flow that is coming out of Lapindo’s well. They witnessed that the dikes created to contain the mud flow are being quickly filled with mud and that the threat to communities and to the environment around the disaster area is growing by the day. Greenpeace believes that this disaster is already slipping beyond control as temporary dikes constructed to contain the mud flow are likely to succumb to pressure from the boiling mud continuously coming out of the crater source.”

Greenpeace is concerned that attempts to mitigate the flow of the mud will inevitably lead to long-term and irreversible impacts on the environment in the area, specifically on the nearby river and marine ecosystems. The dumping of untreated mud and water into the aquatic environment is truly a regrettable outcome arising from a very desperate situation. We also fear that given the nature and extent of this disaster, the underground water tables in and around the area of the mudflow , face the risk of toxic contamination.

Greenpeace is calling on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to hold Lapindo accountable for one of the worst industrial disasters in Indonesia. Specifically President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must impose the following terms on Lapindo, its affiliates and owners:

1.Just Compensation for the 10,000 people who have lost their homes, lands, livelihoods and who suffer from health problems caused by the mud flow. At the moment, the displaced live under appalling conditions in evacuation areas. There are reports that Lapindo is paying displaced residents a measly amount of $35 a month for living expenses, while offering about $550 to families to cover two years' rent.

2) Public access to real information. Lapindo never revealed company data used during the drilling operation nor the area’s geological composition and the risks involved in this particular operation. In the same manner, there was an obvious failure of government oversight and regulation in ensuring that such drilling operations do not result in disasters like the one we are witnessing now. Instead of downplaying the impacts of this disaster, concerned government agencies should be made to account for this tragic regulatory failure.

3) Containment and Mitigation measures should be established. The Indonesian government must force Lapindo and the large conglomerates who own it (Bakrie Group, Santos of Australia and Medco Group) to get the best available expertise and develop the best mitigating solutions to limit the impacts of this disaster to human life and the environment. Furthermore, warning systems and response scenarios must be developed immediately in anticipation of the coming rainy season, which is likely to aggravate the current situation

4) Rehabilitation Fund should be established by the large conglomerates who own Lapindo. They would have raked in massive amounts of money had they not bungled this oil drilling operations. This disaster will have long-term impacts to people’s livelihood and the environment. This rehabilitation fund should also cover remediation and restoration costs of the mud flow’s impacts on the river, marine and water ecosystems in the area which are now likely to be affected as well. Of course, in the end no money can ever compensate for this irreversible damage to the environment.

5) Demand Full Accountability and Liability from Lapindo and Minister Bakrie. It is utterly shameless for the minister to distance himself from the disaster when his corporate group owns the controlling shares of this operation. Mr Bakrie, who heads the Social Welfare ministry, did not even ensure proper evacuation and care for the 10,000 affected people. The government must force Mr Bakrie and Lapindo (and shareholders) to shoulder all costs concerning evacuation, compensation, containment and rehabilitation. Ultimately, taxpayers’ money must not be used to deal with the disaster caused by one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Indonesia. Otherwise, the Indonesian public is forced to shoulder the burden for a calamity brought about by the irresponsible actions of the company.

“The Lapindo mudflow disaster stands out as an iconic example of a corporate crime, demonstrating how irresponsible activities by big business continue to wreak havoc on the environment and people’s lives. Corporations are rewarded with overgenerous opportunities and rights to profit from the exploitation of the environment. At the first sign of trouble, they tend to take flight leaving their legacies of suffering and degradation behind. The Lapindo disaster is a classic example of this trend,” Hidayati added.