It's one year now, and the problems surrounding the mudflow in Sidoarjo remain unresolved. Even worse, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

The mudflow, which has been spewing since May 29 last year, has engulfed hundreds of hectares of land, including villages, rice fields, factories, devastating the lives of more than 15,000 people.

Efforts have been made to stop the mudflow by numerous parties, coordinated by the government first through a national team consisting of inter-ministerial representatives, and now by the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS).

Without dismissing their efforts, the fact is the problems remain the same. Hot mud continues gushing out of the ground, at even larger volumes, the destroyed toll road and other infrastructure remain unrepaired or unreplaced, and there are still thousands of people living in makeshift camps.

Why have these problems not been dealt with? Looking at the way the government has handled the situation, it seems to be torn between two conflicting interests; i.e. the interests of the people and those of Lapindo Brantas Inc., the energy company blamed by many for causing the mudflow.

The government of course wants to help the more than 15,000 people affected by this disaster. But at the same time, it seems not to want to harm Lapindo, a company controlled by the family of Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, through PT Energi Mega Persada.

The result of these conflicting interests has been a failure to arrive at a permanent solution, for either the victims or Lapindo and its partners in the Brantas gas block at the center of the mudflow.

What the government has done is order Lapindo to pay Rp 3.8 trillion (US$434.8 million) in compensation to victims and for efforts to halt the mud, while the government will bear the cost of repairing or rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, which could run into the billions of dollars.

But nobody in the public knows for sure how that Rp 3.8 trillion figure was arrived at, or if Lapindo has actually agreed to provide that amount of money.

What we do know is that the compensation process has been slow, and the victims are becoming even angrier toward Lapindo, and that there are no signs infrastructure work in the area will get underway anytime soon.

So, what's wrong? The government policy requiring Lapindo to compensate the victims is unacceptable. The gap between what the people are demanding and what Lapindo is offering remains wide.

Second, the government clearly is having trouble securing approval from the House of Representatives for funds to finance the construction of major infrastructure submerged by the mudflow, including a new toll road and railway link to facilitate the smooth movement of goods and people between western parts of East Java and eastern areas of the province and Bali.

Legislators keep asking the government to demand Lapindo bear all the costs, including for rebuilding infrastructure. And the government does not seem to have a clear-cut answer as to why it does not demand this of Lapindo. Lapindo does seem to have an answer, though. It says the mudflow was not caused by its drilling at the Brantas bloc but by the massive earthquake that rocked Yogyakarta two days earlier.

However, this explanation is highly debatable and there is no definite answer for this either.

To solve the problems once and for all, it is important to establish first of all what really caused the mudflow. As each side has its own claims, we need a third party to provide a permanent decision. In other words, we need a credible court verdict.

We suggest the government bring this case to court, not to harm Lapindo, but to provide legal certainty for all parties: Lapindo and all the victims in Sidoarjo and surrounding areas.

To make this process credible, we call on Aburizal Bakrie to resign from the Cabinet. Because of the mudflow case, Aburizal has lost all credibility as chief minister for public welfare. His resignation would be greeted with praise.

And while pursuing a legal settlement, the government must take over the handling of all problems related to the mudflow, including compensation for the victims.

In this way, the victims would have hope of a resolution and all parties would see the light at the end of the tunnel.