The mudflow disaster in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java, has implicated many parties, not only Lapindo and the Bakrie family, but also the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama and some media companies. The Jakarta Post's Riyadi Suparno, assisted by our journalists in East Java Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, investigated the intricate relationship of those parties in the handling of the disaster. What follows are their reports.

The million dollar question is: which company has been the most talked about in East Java over the past two months?

The answer is Lapindo Brantas Inc., a company controlled by the Bakrie family. This oil and gas company became so popular – or unpopular – by triggering the uncontrolled gushing of hot mud in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java.

The mudflow, which began slowly on May 29 – which is why the company initially played it down – is becoming bigger each day. It now spouts 50,000 cubic meters of hot mud a day, submerging rice fields and four villages, and making 10,000 villagers homeless.

The problem grew when the mud submerged the turnpike linking Surabaya and the eastern part of East Java. The closure of the turnpike caused massive traffic jams, delaying travel and deliveries.

When the turnpike was elevated, and protected with sand-and-stone walls, the mud breached the walls in other areas, flooding more villages, and even closing the Porong main road and railway link.

The villagers have nothing kind to say about Lapindo. They spell out their displeasure for everyone to see in the graffiti on their walls, through demonstrations and in some cases by forcefully breaching the walls holding back the mud.

They have also demonstrated on the main street of Porong, demanding that Lapindo's license be revoked and its executives prosecuted.

Initially, Lapindo claimed it was not responsible for the mudflow because the mud was not gushing out from its wells. However, Lapindo's partner in the Brantas block accused Lapindo of "gross negligence" for not setting casing on at the depth of 8,500 feet at Banjar Panji I well, where the mudflow originated.

Although the exact cause of the mudflow is not yet known, all parties are pointing the finger at Lapindo.

The police were quick to question those involved in the drilling activities that caused the uncontrolled mudflow, and named nine people suspects.

They include Imam Agustino, the president of Lapindo; Nur Rochmat Sawulo, drilling share service vice president of PT Energi Mega Persada, a shareholder in Lapindo; and Yenny Nawawi, the president of PT Medici Citra Nusa, a contractor of Lapindo. The other six are drilling executive staff. All suspects could face between five and 15 years' jail if found guilty. But the police stopped there. No progress has been reported.

In addition, a number of organizations have planned to launch a class action against Lapindo, on behalf of the victims. They include the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and the East Java office of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi). But the NU is not entirely sure it will go ahead with the class action because, according to an NU activist, NU leaders have received money from the Bakrie family, which essentially owns Lapindo.

"Just call it a bad day for us. This is indeed the risk that any drilling entails," Imam Agustino said recently, referring to the May 29 accident.

Lapindo itself has been trying hard to solve the multifaceted problems. The company has spent billions of rupiah on efforts to stop the mudflow, manage the growing amount of mud and to compensate the victims.

It established three teams to handle the problems. The first team, led by Lapindo itself, is trying to find ways to stop the mud gushing. Despite its efforts, however, it has not been able to stop the mudflow.

The second team, led by the State Ministry for the Environment, is dealing with the management of the hot mud, which keeps increasing every day. The team has decided to separate the water from the solid substances in the mud, treat the water and dump it in the sea. As for the solid substances, no decision has been made.

The third team, led by the Sidoarjo administration, is addressing social problems, including providing shelter for the victims, distributing assistance and finding permanent solutions for the victims, either by relocating them to safer places or compensating them for their losses so they can rebuild their lives.

To contain the impacts of the disaster, Lapindo is spreading money among a number of institutions, including the local military to help build the embankment and evacuate the victims and the Sidoarjo administration which is trying to meet victims' immediate needs as well as financing needs of groups that are assisting the victims.

As things progress, however, the money has worked its way in to the pockets of some environmental activists and non-governmental organizations in the regency, so that they will be more cooperative and not so "vocal," according to one activist.

"They are operating so cleverly, leaving no stone unturned. Most parties will get assistance so that they will not be so vocal against Lapindo," said environmental activist Satrijo Wiweko.

He suspected that some media in East Java had also received "assistance" so that their reports would not be too hard on Lapindo and local administrations.

Lapindo's East Java general manager Rawindra denied the accusation, saying that it worked in cooperation with all parties, with the Sidoarjo administration as the central point of coordination. Rawindra refused to respond to the accusations, saying that the company would rather focus its attention on helping the victims.

To anticipate the coming of the fasting month, the company is helping the victims relocate from Porong market, where they have been living for the past two months, to rented houses. The company has given each family Rp 5 million for two years' rent and Rp 500,000 for moving costs, with a Rp 300,000 monthly food allowance per head per month for the next six months.

A number of villagers, however, describe the compensation as inadequate. Mahmudah, Renokenongo's village chief, acknowledged that almost half of the mudflow victims in his area had refused the allowances.

"They have not yet accepted the money and I don't blame them because it's their right to decide," Mahmudah told The Jakarta Post. Some of those turning down the compensation have staged a protest at the Pasar Baru refugee camp and a demonstration on Porong's main road.

"Many things go beyond the value of money, such as the threat hanging over our heads that the hot mud could burst out anytime and flood our homes," said a refugee in a protest rally.