http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/three-years-of-mudflow-misery/278177 May 29, 2009
Dessy Sagita Three Years of Mudflow Misery As victims and rights activists marked the third anniversary of the East Java mudflow disaster on Friday, the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) said its team would launch a probe into whether gross human rights violations had occurred in the case. Hundreds of victims braved heavy rain during a prayer to mark the day at an unfinished housing development near the site of the mudflow in the Sidoarjo district. In Jakarta, Komnas HAM commissioner Nurkholis said the investigation team would start collecting information in July from the mudflow victims, government officials and the drilling company tied to the mudflow, PT Lapindo Brantas, which is controlled by the Bakrie group. The commission has already carried out three fact-finding missions in the past but "the recommendations made by our three previous teams were ignored by the government," Nurkholis said. He said officials hoped that the team would be able to help the mudflow victims recover their livelihoods and gain access to adequate housing, as well as protect their right to receive proper health care and education. "Almost all of their basic human rights have been violated in this case," he said. "People have been suffering for three years now, so action must be taken." Nurkholis said Komnas HAM would write a thorough investigation report, in line with the standard procedure for any investigation into gross human rights violations. He said he could not predict when the probe would be completed because all parties connected to the case would have to be questioned thoroughly and the process could not be rushed. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) a leading rights watchdog, said it would file a judicial review of the Supreme Court's rejection of its appeal of a lower court decision rejecting a case it had filed against the government and Lapindo. The original case had accused the company and the government of failing in their obligations to the victims. "The fact that our appeal was rejected felt like a really bitter present," said Zainal Abidin, the YLBHI's director of research and development. "It's surprising. That's why we will file for a judicial review." Zainal said YLBHI was collecting new evidence and analyzing the current situation at the mudflow location in an effort to support their case for a judicial review. Yuniwaty Teryana, a spokeswoman for a Lapindo subsidiary, said the company had no problem with the new Komnas HAM investigative team. She said the company had already visited the commission several times to explain that it had followed proper procedures for the drilling that has been blamed for causing the disaster. In 2006, mud began flowing from a crack near a Lapindo gas drilling well and the government has accused the company of negligence during their operation. "If Komnas HAM wants to launch a new team to re-investigate the case, [Lapindo] will do nothing but cooperate," she said. Yuniwati said it was Komnas HAM'S right to summon and question anyone alleged to be responsible for the tragedy, including the company's staff members and executives. "We will follow every procedure, just like what we have been doing all along. We have no problem with that," she said.
