Indonesia watchdog sues over 'mud volcano'

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A warning sign stands next to a dyke which holds the mud erupting from a Lapindo Brantas gas exploration well in Sidoarjo, East Java. Tonnes of potentially toxic hot mud began spewing from the earth at a gas drilling site on the May 29th, 2006. Photo courtesy AFP.

by Staff Writers
Jakarta (AFP) Feb 12, 2007
An Indonesian environmental watchdog said it had filed suit on Monday against a mining company and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over a "mud volcano" which has forced thousands to flee their homes. A gas well near Surabaya in East Java operated by PT Lapindo Brantas has spewed steaming mud since May last year, submerging villages, factories and fields in the Sidoarjo district.

"We are taking them to court because the mud outflow caused by Lapindo has thoroughly damaged the environment in Sidoarjo," said Chalid Muhammad, the chairman of Walhi, the country's leading environment watchdog.

Lapindo and five related companies, President Yudhoyono, the energy and environment ministers and local officials were named as defendants, he said. The officials were named for failing to quickly contain the mud spill.

Yudhoyono has ordered Lapindo to pay 3.8 trillion rupiah (420 million dollars) in compensation and costs.

An Indonesian minister, Aburizal Bakrie, claimed last month that the flow was a "natural disaster" unrelated to the drilling activities of Lapindo, which belongs to a group controlled by his family.

However, a study by British experts said that the eruption was most likely caused by drilling for gas.

In addition, 13 people died after an explosion in November when an underground gas pipeline burst following subsidence that was blamed on the mud leak.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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