Home Residents Struggling Mudflow disaster victims in Jakarta again to demand compensation

Mudflow disaster victims in Jakarta again to demand compensation

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

(Originally published by Antara in June 26, 2007) Jakarta (ANTARA News) - More than a hundred victims of the mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, have again come to Jakarta to demand payment of compensation the government had promised them. Some 165 of the displaced residents of Sidoarjo were determined to stay at the Independence Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta until their demand was met. They staged a demonstration in front of the parliament building on Tuesday afternoon. One of them, Ganet Purwanto, said they would stay in the capital city until their demand was met. "We are fed up by the government`s assurances that we will be compensated because until now it has yet to keep its promises," he said. He said victims had previously been told they would receive the compensation payments on May 24 but nntil now nothing had become of the promise. "We also want the compensation payments to be made in the full amounts, not in instalments," he said. Acccording to Subandi, one of the victims` field coordinators, 300 more Sidoarjo residents who had lost their homes and lands by the mudflow were now preparing to leave for Jakarta to join those already here. "Some 300 Sidoarjo people will come to Jakarta on July 3 to demand realization of the government`s promises," Subandi said. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who had expressed concern about the fate of the mudflow victims is currently in East Java to collect first-hand information and data for the formulation of further steps to solve the problems the mudflow has caused. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment Add Comment Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.