NGOs slam govt over mudflow victims

Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 09/04/2008 9:17 PM | National

Nongovernmental organizations on Thursday threw their support behind mudflow victims from Sidoarjo, East Java, by urging the government to compensate them before the post-Ramadan holiday ofIdul Fitri at the latest.

As many as 24 Jakarta-based NGOs, grouped under the Coalitionof Justice for Lapindo Mudflow Victims, criticized the government for "neglecting" the fate of those displaced by the sludge thathas devastated the area since May 2006.

Some 25 representatives of the victims met with the coalitionat the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) headquarters in Jakarta to seek the NGOs' backing fortheir demands.

"We ask President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take stern measures to resolve the fate of Sidoarjo mudflow victims,"coalition coordinator Usman Hamid told the meeting.

"The President must also be brave and ask all relevant parties, including his minister responsible for this matter, to complete payment of compensation before Idul Fitri."

The representatives, from 10 villages in Sidoarjo, arrived in Jakarta on Friday to push for a clear response over compensation payments, which have yet to be completed two years after the disaster struck.(and)

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