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(Originally published in Indonesian by Koran Tempo July 13, 2007. Contextual translation by udt from TCS.) Related Info:
Preface : Emha Ainun Nadjib Direct Involvement to Speed Up the Amends Payment
Part 2 : Bakrie and Nation Liberality
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 1 : Lapindo Mudflow Rounds
by Emha Ainun Nadjib, Artist Live in Yogya We can not guarantee that any time our village will be safe from earthquake, flood, landslide or any kind of another earth geological and natural phenomena including my home too. At any time, may be in the next 1 minute, we can fell up something horrible i.e. bankruptcy, lost of something, shock, depression, or anything, happened to us, our family, office, community, club, group.... We and each of us have those possibilities. For that reason, I don not have any courage to do anything untruly, especially related to human infliction. This is the starting point of this writing. The handling of the right around 50.000 Sidoarjo mudflow victims which sank their village, seem to be protracted, sluggish and stuck. The chronology of the incidence should be like this. Over a year since May 29, 2006 is round #1: The victims versus Lapindo. Round #2: The victims versus Minarak Lapindo. And round #3: The Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency (BPLS) versus Minarak Lapindo, after the President came down to Sidoarjo.
On July 10, 2007, President boiled over when heard the stagnancy (reported by outside bureaucracy resources), and then Nirwan Bakrie called by Minister of Social Affairs, Bachtiar Chamsyah. This is the round #4: The President versus Bakrie. And if it fail, the round #5 is Peoples versus Lapindo.
God knows the thruth. During my writing, the Operation Director of PT Minarak Lapindo phoned me reporting that the payment for the amends of the Victims asset verified as Letter C dan Petok D-- the land ownership refused to pay previously, though the controversy of the buildings width still there.
Psychological Limit
Since few days ago, I have calculated that the next Monday, July 16, probably the final psychological limit of the Sidoarjo mudflow victims when the President and his institution below should ascertained the validity and performance of their policy regarding the amends of the mud victims.
For few days, particularly yesterday, it was hard for myself to muffle the victims anger, to adjourn their amuck until Mr. President boiled over to Minarak. Of course, it will reduce their emotional tension for a while. However, if it is fail again, it should either be an explosion or firing at least will be happened.
Since Mr. President back from Sidoarjo, actually it generated a progressive policy than before, but it did not implemented significantly yet. On June 26, 2007 morning, President Yudhoyono had been watching a symbolic payment to around 163 victims by Minarak Lapindo, and it still not finish yet up to now. The amount 163, totally 522 together with the previous payment, is verified by the National Team which is already dispersed. The result of verification made by BPLS, scheduled to be applied for the payment started from July 1, 2007, does not give any psychological optimism to the victims up to the end of two weeks. BPLS already verified around 400 documents and only 38 accepted by Minarak Lapindo.
The main problem that impeded the process is the inexistence of explicit policy statement from the President mentioning that BPLS do the right for lands and building verification owned by victims and Minarak Lapindo is the cashier. Minarak also engage in the BPLS verification process and acted as the final decision maker for the acceptance of the verification documents. Thousands of Sidoarjo Regent signature does not mean anything to Minarak, this made the President angry and decided to stay in Sidoarjo for 3 days. Incredulity situation arise again as before and it will dramatically increase days by days and very easy to create anarchism if the President does not take an assertive actions up to July 16, 2007.
God, Chicken and Government
God creates fetus with the maintenance protection, systems and facilities that guarantee to be a baby. Even until the baby grew up and die, the God systems and facilities guarantee still transpire, including the control mechanism.
The chicken mother spawn and brood on to maintain the temperature and warm feeling for maturing the egg, assuring the protection and livelihood guidance till the egg become a chick, growing up and democratized and make them independent.
State and government just do what the chicken done. When decision made, it should be completed with the maintenance, systems, facilities, and control mechanism as tight as possible. To be honest, it did not prepare properly in the mud case so the case protracted more than a year. In the Cikeas meeting on June 24, 2007, Mr. President asked: what is Minarak? This mean that he never received a sufficient reports about the sister company of Lapindo that specially handle the victims. Even after the President back from Sidoarjo, the awareness and performance improvement of “chicken mother example” does not good enough. The decisions resulted during the President open the office at Sidoarjo for 3 days are not tightly escorted by bureaucracy.
A Bucket of Tears
To avoid bias and misunderstanding around the problems, let me extend the following background. I have been thrown to a kind of work roundly over my capability limitation. Around 10.476 families (around 45 thousands people, or around 94% victims) gave me a mandate letter to represented them to extend to the President the amount of Lapindo mud victims according with the data they had, including their demanding and expectations that President can do the tactical action to solve their problems.
The letter sent on June 22, 2007 and then 16 peoples representing the residents signed the letter met the President in Cikeas on June 24, 2007 afternoon. The meeting held in one and a half hours. The President tired with a lot of duties and matters and asked me to lead the meeting attended by 16 peoples representing mud victims, representative from Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS), 4 ministers, and Head of BPLS. President cried 3 times with different actualization of expression. And I am sure that since Adam prophet, no Presidents in the world can solve the problems with only a bucket of tears.
For that reason, I told Mr. President in the meeting: "Mr. President, even you cry and the tears full a bucket, it will not solve the problems." In the middle of meeting, when Bambang Sakri, on of the victims representative, cried continually during conveying his complaint, I stood up and walked to reach him. I gave him a hug and flattered his shoulder and in the mean time whispered him: "Does Sidoarjo people tearful?."
There were 4 escalated decision during the meeting. First, Mr. President said: "I will come to Sidoarjo in the near future." And then after further conversations, the decision became, "Tomorrow I will go to Sidoarjo." And then escalated again, "Tomorrow I will open the office at Sidoarjo for 3 days." Finally, "Tomorrow at 2 o’clock afternoon, I will go to Sidoarjo together with Cak Nun and all the victims representative."
Then, Sidoarjo decision born and moderately change the situation. First, before the amends process is not completed by a time schedule, now the limit is clear on: 14 September. Second, the verification criteria for lands and buildings is more loosen; If the victims does not have the IMB Letter C, Petok D, the ITS data can be used. Otherwise, the residents testimony signed by the bureaucracy from the lowest level up to the Regent. Third, verification is BPLS rught, Minarak Lapindo just only do the payment.
Until the Posterity
This is a pretty fair “egg”, however who will brood it in order to hatch? We have to be more proactive. Morally, we all have the responsibilities to all victims, either they accepted the 20% down payment (DP), or demanded 50% DP, or 100%, or even the other who has ideas of 300 percents and 500 percents DP. The mandate was only come from the victims demanded 20 % and 50 % and also 16 businessmen member of Association of Mud Victims Company (GPKL). However, when we engineered the meeting by inviting certain Ministers to come to Surabaya to be united with the victims, the discussion covered all the victims.
Latest, few days ago I came from Jakarta together with Minarak Operation Director, Lapindo’s sister company responsible for mud victims handling, arranged the meeting with the residents representatives. Then, the deal made, shook hands and read Al-Fatihah together. There is a deal that around 442 land areas verified by BPLS will be paid immediately tomorrow by Minarak Lapindo. But, it failed again.
And now, the round is Mr. President versus Bakrie. There is no legal relation between Bakrie Group and Lapindo or the holding company. However, as stated by Lapindo itself, what Lapindo’s doing to the victims just only as a human solidarity and mutual assistance. Mentioning Bakrie in above is because there is a cultural relationship, humanity and nationality between Lapindo and Bakrie. Moreover, Mr. President had ever told me that he had admonished Bakrie hardly: "You have to pay that. Otherwise, it will be long until to the posterity."
We together will witnesses how the rounds going on. Lapindo has a lot of strengths and weaknesses from all sides, so the government. The other related parties forced to do the training. Jab, swing, hook, straight, and uppercut are kept and sharpened. However, what I want none of those. I want the benefit for all. That’s why I always keep trying to connecting all the involved parties and huddled up them to a higher human value instead of economical transaction, legal formulation, even less hatred.
On July 12, 2007 morning, the Operation Director of Minarak Lapindo reported that 52 documents from totally 344 verified by BPLS already paid. The rest 292 will be paid today. Is this a little hope? Even Mr. President ever promised in Sidoarjo that each week will be paid 1.000 up to September 14, 2007?
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