Alvin Darlanika, Jakarta – Just when they thought life could not get much worse, victims of Indonesia's mud volcano are now being buried under the global financial crisis as they await compensation for their lost homes.
The Lapindo Brantas energy firm blamed for the disaster is part of the business empire controlled by the family of Aburizal Bakrie, the country's billionaire welfare minister.
And times are tough for the mega-rich Bakries, with debts of 1.2 billion dollars due to be paid back next year and shares in their stable of companies collapsing as much as 90 percent in recent months.
Lapindo Brantas now admits it will have to delay paying the remainder of the compensation it has promised the victims to help rebuild their lives.
"There has been postponement in the compensation due to administration issues and the effect of the global financial crisis," Lapindo spokeswoman Yuniwati Teryana said.
The volcano, dubbed Lusi, has swamped 12 villages in east Java since it burst from a Lapindo gas exploration well two years ago, killing 13 people and displacing about 36,000. It continues to spew stinking sludge at a rate of dozens of Olympic swimming pools a day.
Bakrie blames an earthquake for the world's biggest mud geyser, but geologists from Durham University have published studies they say proves the well triggered the disaster.
Lapindo has said it will pay less than eight trillion rupiah (680 million dollars) for compensation and the clean-up, well short of the 4.6 billion dollars reportedly required for the clean-up alone.
More than two years since the birth of Lusi, it has only dispersed about 718 billion rupiah (60.3 million dollars) in cash to more than 12,000 families, or about 5,000 dollars per family, according to company figures.
The company acknowledges this is only about 20 percent of the value of the lost properties, and assures angry victims the rest of the compensation is "on the way." "Our target is to finish payments and housing schemes by 2010 or 2011," the spokeswoman said.
But that's just not good enough for the displaced families, most of whom have rejected Lapindo's offer of new housing in nearby villages.
"We're furious at Lapindo. They made a promise they couldn't keep," victim Suwito told AFP, accusing the government of trying to shield the influential Bakrie from responsibility.
"We know that despite the financial crisis, Bakrie still has sufficient funds to settle the problem. There is no excuse for them to delay this," said lawyer Taufik Basari, who represents some of the victims.
More homes were flooded this month when one of the dykes built to hold back the mud burst because of heavy rains and Lapindo's decision to cut the supply of materials needed to maintain the levee.
Holding company Bakrie & Brothers, which owns Lapindo through a subsidiary, has loans worth 1.2 billion dollars due next year and has started to default on short term loans.
To pay off its debts, it has been desperately trying to sell its 35-percent stake in coal giant Bumi Resources for about 1.3 billion dollars. That deal, with Texas Pacific Group affiliate Northstar Pacific Partners, is now on the ropes because of a 50-percent slump in Bumi's share price since October.
Until recently, Bakrie was considered the richest man in Indonesia with a family fortune estimated by Forbes Asia magazine at 5.4 billion dollars, from holdings that span palm oil to coal and construction.
He has escaped censure over the mud disaster, saying he has nothing to do with Lapindo's operations as he prefers to focus on poverty alleviation and his charity organisation.
Chalid Muhammad, of the Green Institute environment group, said prosecutors should use the Durham University studies to hold Lapindo to account.
At a conference of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in South Africa in October, 42 out of 74 scientists voted in support of studies indicating Lapindo's gas well triggered the volcano.
Only three voted in support of the earthquake theory, and they were all Indonesians, Muhammad said.