On Sunday, in a rare show of gratitude, a group claiming to represent Sidoarjo mudflow victims announced their "sincere" thanks to the family of Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie for their response to the mudflow.
The group, claiming to represent some 12,000 mudflow victims, said what the Bakries had done for them over the past three years had brought them "joy" and "prosperity".
However, another group claiming they had yet to receive full compensation from PT Lapindo Brantas Inc., of which the Bakrie family is a major stakeholder, opposed the meeting that they said was a political stunt.
PT Lapindo Brantas Inc. has been deemed by experts as exclusively responsible for the Sidoarjo mudflow that has displaced thousands of families and cost the state billions of rupiah in damages since it first erupted in 2006.
Khairul Huda, one of the group's spokespersons, said at a press conference here Sunday that their thanking the Bakries had "nothing to do with" Aburizal's bid for the Golkar Party's top post.
"We came here today to invite Pak Aburizal Bakrie to a thanksgiving event we plan to hold on Sept. 9," Khairul said after a meeting between the group and Aburizal.
Aburizal has never visited Lapindo victims, since the mudflow erupted in May 2006.
"The event will be an expression of our gratitude to God for the prosperity and pleasures we've begun to enjoy since the mudflow first erupted three years ago."
Meanwhile, Pitanto, one of the mudflow victims from Jatirejo, Sidoarjo, said those visiting Jakarta did not represent all mudflow victims.
"I was never informed about the plan to visit Jakarta. I think not a single victim would thank Bakrie for the lengthy compensation process," Pitanto told The Jakarta Post in Sidoarjo on Sunday.
According to another Lapindo victim, those who attended the meeting were those who lived in housing complexes, not locals who lost not only their houses but also their rice fields.
Locals, he said, faced difficulties to get compensation because they did not have proper documents for their land that was swallowed up by the mud.
Lapindo became a contentious issue for the Bakrie family, especially for Aburizal who is currently vying for the Golkar Party chairmanship.
Aburizal, meanwhile, denied that the group's vist to Jakarta was related to his bid for the Golkar chairmanship.
The Sidoarjo mudflow issues had been used by his rivals to prevent him from securing the top party seat, Aburizal said.
A total of 12,886 mudflow-affected families have agreed to receive compensation from Lapindo under various schemes offered, including cash payments and resettlement plans.
Aburizal said only about 100 families had rejected any of the schemes offered to date.
Yuniwati Teryana of Lapindo Brantas added that the company had spent Rp 6.2 trillion (about US$620 million) and there was still Rp 2.4 trillion left to disburse, including for compensation.
However, Pitanto, a noted Sidoarjo figure, said it would be better for Lapindo to pay all its outstanding compensation payments, than trying to attract sympathy for the family and company behind the disaster.
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