Around 70 victims of Lapindo mudlow visited the embassy of the government of the Netherlands on Wednesday to seek assylum from the country.

Representatives of the victims were acepted by the Political Attache of the Netherlands government Yankers at 10:30 AM at the embassy.

A spokesman for the victims Paring Utomo said the move was taken as the government could not handle the crisis in East Java caused by the mudflow since 2006. the government could only provide promises to the victims without being able to put enough pressure on the parent company of Lapindo Brantas, Bakrie & Brothers, to compansate residents in the affected areas.

“We hope the government of the Netherlands would accomodate some of displaced” Paring said.

Over 10,000 of Sidoarjo residents have lost their homes as the mudflow drowned over 6,5 hectares of land in the regency. Lapindo have sought to avoid compensation pay by forcing the government to pay victims using state budget, saying the gas and oil exploitation in Sidoarjo were not to blame for the mudflow.

ELIK S

http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2008/12/03/brk,20081203-149430,uk.html

 

Photo: AFP

JAKARTA (AFP) - Just when they thought life could not get much worse, victims of Indonesia's mud volcano are now being buried under the global financial crisis as they await compensation for their lost homes.

The Lapindo Brantas energy firm blamed for the disaster is part of the business empire controlled by the family of Aburizal Bakrie, the country's billionaire welfare minister.

And times are tough for the mega-rich Bakries, with debts of 1.2 billion dollars due to be paid back next year and shares in their stable of companies collapsing as much as 90 percent in recent months.

Lapindo Brantas now admits it will have to delay paying the remainder of the compensation it has promised the victims to help rebuild their lives.

"There has been postponement in the compensation due to administration issues and the effect of the global financial crisis," Lapindo spokeswoman Yuniwati Teryana said.

The volcano, dubbed Lusi, has swamped 12 villages in east Java since it burst from a Lapindo gas exploration well two years ago, killing 13 people and displacing about 36,000.

It continues to spew stinking sludge at a rate of dozens of Olympic swimming pools a day.

Bakrie blames an earthquake for the world's biggest mud geyser, but geologists from Durham University have published studies they say proves the well triggered the disaster.

Lapindo has said it will pay less than eight trillion rupiah (680 million dollars) for compensation and the clean-up, well short of the 4.6 billion dollars reportedly required for the clean-up alone.

More than two years since the birth of Lusi, it has only dispersed about 718 billion rupiah (60.3 million dollars) in cash to more than 12,000 families, or about 5,000 dollars per family, according to company figures.

The company acknowledges this is only about 20 percent of the value of the lost properties, and assures angry victims the rest of the compensation is "on the way."

"Our target is to finish payments and housing schemes by 2010 or 2011," the spokeswoman said.

But that's just not good enough for the displaced families, most of whom have rejected Lapindo's offer of new housing in nearby villages.

"We're furious at Lapindo. They made a promise they couldn't keep," victim Suwito told AFP, accusing the government of trying to shield the influential Bakrie from responsibility.

"We know that despite the financial crisis, Bakrie still has sufficient funds to settle the problem. There is no excuse for them to delay this," said lawyer Taufik Basari, who represents some of the victims.

More homes were flooded this month when one of the dykes built to hold back the mud burst because of heavy rains and Lapindo's decision to cut the supply of materials needed to maintain the levee.

Holding company Bakrie & Brothers, which owns Lapindo through a subsidiary, has loans worth 1.2 billion dollars due next year and has started to default on short term loans.

To pay off its debts, it has been desperately trying to sell its 35-percent stake in coal giant Bumi Resources for about 1.3 billion dollars. That deal, with Texas Pacific Group affiliate Northstar Pacific Partners, is now on the ropes because of a 50-percent slump in Bumi's share price since October.

Until recently, Bakrie was considered the richest man in Indonesia with a family fortune estimated by Forbes Asia magazine at 5.4 billion dollars, from holdings that span palm oil to coal and construction.

He has escaped censure over the mud disaster, saying he has nothing to do with Lapindo's operations as he prefers to focus on poverty alleviation and his charity organisation.

Chalid Muhammad, of the Green Institute environment group, said prosecutors should use the Durham University studies to hold Lapindo to account.

At a conference of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in South Africa in October, 42 out of 74 scientists voted in support of studies indicating Lapindo's gas well triggered the volcano.

Only three voted in support of the earthquake theory, and they were all Indonesians, Muhammad said.

 

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/081127/afp/081127223329asiapacificnews.html

World scientists conclude drilling, not earthquake, was the cause of east Java mud volcano at international debate

The main vent of the Lusi mud volcano taken within a few months of eruption. Click here for more information.

A resounding vote of international petroleum geologists from around the globe concluded that the mud volcano was triggered by drilling of a nearby gas exploration well.

This may have implications for compensation of the local population affected.

Lusi started to erupt in East Java, Indonesia, on May 29th 2006, and is still spewing huge volumes of boiling mud over the surrounding area. It has displaced around 30,000 people from their homes and swamped 12 villages.

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 at a rate sufficient to fill 53 Olympic swimming pools each day.