Rights group urges probe over Indonesian 'mud volcano'

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Study finds Indonesia 'mud volcano' collapsing
An Indonesian "mud volcano" that has oozed sludge for two years is collapsing under its own weight, worsening an environmental disaster that has displaced thousands, a study said Wednesday. Sudden collapses of up to three metres (9.8 feet) have been recorded at the centre of the volcano in East Java, the study by Durham University and the Bandung Institute of Technology found. "Such sudden collapses could be the beginning of a caldera -- a large basin-shaped volcanic depression," the institute said in a statement, adding that the caldera could be as much as 146 metres deep. "(Scientists) propose the subsidence is due to the weight of mud and collapse of rock strata due to the excavation of mud from beneath the surface," it said. The volcano in Sidoarjo district has been spewing around 60 Olympic swimming pools of mud a day since erupting to life in May 2006 from a gas drilling hole, owned by oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas. Drilling by Lapindo, owned by the family of billionaire welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, has been blamed for causing the mud flow, but the company claims an earthquake in the city of Yogyakarta was to blame. Twelve villages have been affected by the spreading mud and at least 36,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. The mud volcano, known as "Lusi", has already been an environmental and economic disaster for local people, and study authors say things will get worse as the mud continues to flow and the centre collapses. "Sidoarjo is a populated region and is collapsing as a result of the birth and growth of Lusi. This could continue to have a significant environmental impact on the surrounding area for years to come," study co-author Richard Davies said.

by Staff Writers
Jakarta (AFP) May 28, 2008
Indonesia must step up efforts to investigate serious human rights abuses surrounding the eruption of a "mud volcano" which displaced 36,000 people, the national human rights commission said Wednesday.

The commission investigator said the state body had found "serious" rights violations relating to the disaster and called on the government to punish those responsible.

"A serious human rights violation has occurred," Kabul Supriyadhie told a forum of activists and journalists.

The mud volcano, dubbed "Lusi", erupted from a well being dug by Lapindo Brantas, an oil and gas company owned by billionaire welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie, in East Java two years ago on Thursday.

Thirteen people were killed in the initial eruption and 12 villages were inundated as the stinking, methane-filled mud spewed across 640 hectares (1,580 acres) of surrounding countryside, forcing thousands to flee their homes.

Lapindo blamed an earlier earthquake and a court has ruled that the eruption was a natural disaster, but independent researchers say the volcano was almost certainly woken by the drilling.

"This is a problem that we deem serious, where the state has failed to protect and guarantee basic rights of the victims of the incident and has no political will to pressure PT Lapindo Brantas to take their responsibility," Supriyadhie said.

He said the company had no legal authority to drill in the densely populated area and local residents had not been informed of its operations.

The rights commission also found it puzzling that the government had not investigated the explosion that killed the 13 company workers at the site.

"No legal process had been launched in relation to the incident. The police said it cannot be investigated because the pipe (that exploded) is now gone and buried under the mud," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian police are pursuing a criminal case where Lapindo executives are among 13 named as suspects over the drilling mishap that caused the mudflow.

The original police file on the case was submitted shortly after the mud began flowing, but the case has seen long delays.

"There was a prolonged debate whether the phenomenon was a natural disaster or man-made. This should be decided in court by a judge, not during investigation," said Supriyadhie.

Separate Jakarta courts in November and December last year rejected two lawsuits brought by environmentalists against Lapindo and the government for neglecting to prevent the mud volcano from causing a humanitarian disaster.

The commission, formed by presidential decree in 1993, has been widely criticised for its failure to push the government to investigate rights abuses.

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SHAKE AND BLOW

Etna volcano rumbles back to life in Sicily

Rome (AFP) May 13, 2008
Sicily's volcano Mountain Etna volcano rumbled back to life on Tuesday with "seismic events" measuring up to 3.9 on the Richter scale, a vulcanologist said three days after minor eruptions shook the cone.

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