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Thousands of mudflow victims stage rally

NU Online  ·  Senin, 25 Agustus 2008 | 05:13 WIB

Jakarta, NU Online
Thousands of mudflow victims from various villages in Sidoarjo, East Java, staged a rally at the site of the mudflow demanding payment for their damaged land and properties.

These victims said that they had received 20 percent of compensation money promised by Lapindo Brantas, a company indirectly controlled by the Bakrie family.<>

Now, they demand that the company pay the remaining 80 percent of the compensation money.

"Our housing rent is running out, but so far we don't know yet when they would pay the remaining (80 percent)," Basuki Abdullah, one of the rally's coordinators, told Tempointeraktif.com.

The protesters blocked all access to the main mudflow area by erecting bamboo fence, with various posters all around. One of the protesters says, "This land still belongs to us. Whoever build mud dams here, they need our permission." Another says, "BPLS is only a toothless tiger, whose policy only follows Lapindo's wish."

BPLS is the government-sanctioned Sidoarjo Mud Mitigation Agency.

The protesters also erected a number of tents on some of the mud dams, and placed several sets of sound system equipment to air their demands. The rally effectively halted BPLS's operation at the site, but did not disrupt traffics at the nearby main road. (jp/dar)