Surabaya – A rally staged by thousands of citizens affected by the Lapindo mudflow in East Java turned violent when protestors clashed with police officers on Monday.
Initially peaceful, the rally, held at the East Java governor's office, reached its boiling point after it became apparent that high-ranking officials would not come out to meet the protestors, as per their demands.
Protestors forced their way into the governor's building and threw stones and bottles at the police officers as the demonstration's main orator, speaking through a loudspeaker, tried to get the people to simmer down.
"Let's not get provoked. We're here to hold a peaceful rally. Don't do anything anarchic. Calm down," the orator said. Instead of following his instructions, however, the protesters started hurling projectiles at him, too.
Trying to regain control of the situation, the police fired water cannons and tear gas at the angry crowd.
The demonstrators' purpose was to voice their anger over what they said was a delay in compensation payments promised them by Minarak Lapindo Jaya, the holding company for the gas drilling firm widely blamed for causing the mudflow. Lapindo is a subsidiary of the Bakrie Group, whose main patron, Aburzial Bakrie, is running for president in 2014.
One of the protestors, Sunarto, said the people were tired of Lapindo's empty promises. "We're staging the rally to demand settlement of the compensation payment, which is still not finished," he said.
The people at the rally had wanted East Java Governor Soekarwo to force Lapindo to settle compensation payments immediately, but he was out of town on duty and not at his office.
Before the rally, protestors blocked access to Jalan Raya Porong. They also blocked the railway in front of the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) post, causing a traffic jam of 2 kilometers. Sidoarjo is a district in East Java.
The blockade caused a Mutiara Timur train bound for Surabaya-Banyuwangi, East Java, to arrive two hours late. The police redirected vehicles to Jalan Arteri Porong to ease the congestion.
"Mutiara Timur left Surabaya at 9 a.m. but was held back at Sidoarjo station and was only able to resume the trip at 12 p.m. after residents opened the blockade in Jalan Raya Porong," a police spokesman said.
Last year, the Bakrie Group denied there had been any delay in the compensation for land affected by the mudflow. "The full financial commitment will be completed as per the 2009 agreement, which is on or before December 2012," said Christopher Fong, Bakrie Group's international spokesman.