Speaker asks team to keep mudflow victims away from House

Jakarta, NU Online
House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono has asked the National Lapindo Mudflow Handling Team (Timnas) to prevent victims of the mudflow disaster from staging a rally at the House. 

"The team must take steps to prevent victims from demonstrating at the House in Jakarta," Agung told reporters after receiving Surinam Ambassador to Indonesia Angelic Caroline del Castilho at his office here on Wednesday.

He said the team`s working periond had recently been extended so that it should be able to take concrete steps to foil the mudflow victims` intention to stage a protest in Jakarta.

As reported by Antara news agency, Agung said the mudflow victims were planning to come to Jakarta to fight for their case bacause they had no other choice. They had been promised compensation payments for houses and land inundated by the mudflow but until now the promise had not been realized.

"The responsible parties concerned had better take immediate anticipatory steps. If they have promised to pay compensation, they should meet this obligation soon," Agung said.

He said the government had never asked PT Lapindo to pay mudflow victims compensation in amounts larger than the company itself had promised. "So they have to keep this promise," he added.

It was reported earlier, a large number of residents of Tanggulangin village in Siduarjo threatened to take the case of PT Lapindo`s failure to pay promised compensation money to Jakarta and to hold a rally at the DPR. (dar)