"A 1,500 horsepower drill engine cannot activate a breakage in the earth."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Six years have elapsed since the man-made Lapindo mud disaster claimed numerous lives and displaced tens of thousands of people in Sidoarjo, East Java.
Although the uncontrollable mudflow also affected agriculture and industries in its surrounding areas, the cause of the disaster remains obscure.
Even today, the debate over the cause of the mud disaster continues relentlessly, and it remains unclear whether a drilling activity or a natural disaster unleashed the mud.
At a conference of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists held in Cape Town in 2008, scientists from around the world voted that the disaster was triggered by the drilling activity.
However, in September 2009, the House of Representatives said that they had found no evidence of negligence on the part of Lapindo and declared that the mudflow was caused by a natural disaster.
Sofian Hadi, a member of the Indonesian Geologists Association and the deputy operation officer of the Sidoarjo Mud Management Board (BPLS), repeated in Jakarta on Monday that the drilling activity was not the cause of the mud disaster.
The BPLS was formed by the central government as a follow up to a decision made by Indonesia`s Supreme Court.
"In my opinion, the drilling activity is not the reason for the mudflow, because a 1,500 horsepower drill engine cannot activate a breakage in the earth," Sofian remarked.
He further stated that findings from the observation countermeasures team (TP2LS) - formed on September 4, 2007 and lead by the vice president of the House of Representatives, Priyo Budi Santoso - concluded during a plenary council meeting on September 29, 2009 that the mudflow was a natural phenomenon.
The natural phenomenon, according to an observation made by the countermeasures team, has also occurred in other regions and countries.
The decision regarding the cause of the mudslide was also backed by the Supreme Court on April 3, 2009, which confirmed that the mudflow was a natural phenomenon and not caused by Lapindo`s mining activities.
On August 5, 2009, the East Java regional police department released a letter of order to cease the mudflow investigation.
"From a legal perspective, we all know that it was not the fault of PT Lapindo Brantas, especially of the Bakrie family. This understanding needs to be conveyed to the community in the midst of the political efforts continued by certain parties to state otherwise," explained Satya W Yudha, a member of the House of Representatives` Commission VII on mining and energy.
He said that the Bakrie family`s commitment and sincerity in finalising the rest of the land and infrastructure payments will definitely be evident.
Although the arguments over the cause of the Lapindo mudflow have become a political issue, Satya has requested the people to consider the case from an impartial point of view.
"If the case continues to be politicised, it will create a disproportional view of the problem" Satya said in Jakarta on Monday.
He called on the people to stop the mudslide crisis from becoming a political issue, because it would only further aggravate those who were affected by the mudflow.
Satya asserted that a better understanding of the background, the technical problem, the reason for the outburst and the Bakrie family`s involvement in providing a solution will bring a better understanding and awareness of the crisis we are facing.
According to him, the Bakrie family has shown a huge commitment towards solving the problem, even though it technically owns only 30 percent of the shares in PT Energi Mega Persada.
The aforementioned company is one of several companies that have merged with PT Lapindo Brantas, the company whose drilling activities in the Sidoarjo region have been associated with the mudflow.
The moral commitment shown by the Bakrie family is evident in the purchase agreements of land and infrastructure from families who have been affected by the mudflow.
These families have received up to 10 times the actual value of land tax in the region.
The certified land was priced at Rp1 million per square metre, while the infrastructures on land were priced at Rp1.5 million per square metre.
From 2006 to date, more than nine thousand families have completed the transaction, which will be finalised among the other families by this year.
"In this case of hot mudflow in Sidoarjo, there is no such thing as compensation. Instead, there are benefits," remarked Satya, a member of the Golkar Party faction in the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, East Java Governor Soekarwo admitted in the provincial capital of Surabaya on Monday that the investment climate in the province has been affected by the Lapindo mudflow ever since it first occurred six years ago in May 2006.
The governor pointed out that a study conducted by Malang Brawijaya University revealed that the mudflow has inflicted a loss of Rp33 trillion in terms of investment potential per year.
"The loss of Rp33 trillion worth of investment potential is based on a study conducted by Brawijaya University in Malang before the construction of the Porong arterial road," the governor remarked.
However, he added that the construction of the road had a positive impact on the investment in the province, which was evident in the psychological aspect of the people living around the mud-affected area.
Soekarwo even expressed optimism that investment in the province, which has been hampered by the Lapindo mudflow, will soon recover, especially because the completion of the arterial road construction in the Porong area is expected to reduce congestion.
"We are optimistic that investment will soon recover after the completion of the arterial road construction in Porong," the governor noted.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Reporter: by Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
