Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – The National Commission on Human Rights will go ahead with its lawsuit against the President and PT Lapindo Brantas Inc, despite police having suspended their investigations into the Sidoarjo mudflow.
The disaster has caused more than 10,000 families to lose their homes and work places.
A member of the commission's task force for the Lapindo mudflow, Syafruddin Ngulma Simeuleu, said that in October his office would interview a number of witnesses comprising members of the public, displaced victims, the President and his subordinates involved in the mudflow mitigation efforts in Sidoarjo, as well as the management of PT Lapindo Brantas.
"We have been working (on this case) since last year and have gathered a number of expert witnesses and scientific documents from foreign experts showing that the hot mudflow was closely related to the oil and gas exploration work conducted by Lapindo Brantas Inc." Syafruddin told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Based on witness testimonies, Syafruddin's team had determined Lapindo Brantas Inc. was an extraordinary crime suspect because it had carried out drilling activities that had caused the mudflow that displaced thousands of people and caused them to lose their rights to a proper living and education.
"Lapindo has apparently disbursed Rp 6.1 trillion (about US$61 billion) for social work, mudflow mitigation and compensation for displaced residents, but it doesn't mean Lapindo has already done its best. As of now, only 20 percent of the compensation payments have been completed, as mandated by the President, while the displaced victims are still waiting in uncertainty for the remaining 80 percent."
"I have approached victims on several occasions. They still live in misery and hundreds are still living in makeshift tents next to the site of the old Porong turnpike," he said.
Syafruddin added that his team had also determined the state, in this case President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was also a suspect in the gross human rights violation for issuing a number of policies in mitigating thousands of victims who had lost their homes, jobs, livelihoods and access to education.
"The state should have protected its citizens, but in the hot mudflow case in Sidoarjo, the state failed to carry out its duty by disregarding the fate of 60,000 people," he said.
The commission had targeted to complete its investigations within three months, after which it would hold a plenary session to determine whether or not the President and Lapindo Brantas Inc. had violated human rights, and subsequently hand over the case to prosecutors, Syafruddin said.