Hearing adjourned, flood victims disappointed<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Flood victims who filed a class action suit against the
\nPresident, Jakarta governor and West Java governor were
\ndisappointed on Wednesday as the first hearing was postponed due
\nto a lack of understanding of procedures by defense lawyers.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Kornel Sianturi of the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court said the trial was adjourned for two weeks as
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri's lawyers did not have proper
\npower of attorney credentials and the West Java governor A.R.
\nNuriana failed entirely to send any representatives to the court.<\/p>\n
Upon hearing the decision, about one hundred flood victims who
\nhad crammed the courtroom booed and jeered. Many of them
\nexpressed their disappointment at the lack of seriousness shown
\nby national leaders of their plight.<\/p>\n
Azas Tigor Nainggolan, the coordinator for the advocacy team
\nfor Jakarta flood victims, criticized the authorities for paying
\nlittle attention and not responding to the flood victims' outcry.<\/p>\n
Two state prosecutors, Tambok Nainggolan and Tuksir, were
\npresent at the court as the defense lawyers representing the
\nPresident.<\/p>\n
But when judge Sianturi asked them to present their power of
\nattorney documents from the President, they could not come up
\nwith them.<\/p>\n
Tigor raised an objection, saying they did not have the right
\nto be in the court room.<\/p>\n
\"You have heard what the lawyer said. You need to leave the
\nroom at once\" the judge said.<\/p>\n
The two obeyed the order without protest.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso was represented by lawyer Yan Juanda
\nSaputra.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs' lawyers also protested because Juanda had
\nfailed to register the authorized letter to the court clerk
\nbefore the trial.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, there is no news from Nuriana or his
\nrepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Outside the courtroom, Tambok told reporters that they only
\nhad a \"verbal\" order to represent the President from the State
\nSecretary.<\/p>\n
\"We only received a verbal order from the State Secretary to
\ncome ... ,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The flood victims filed a lawsuit on March 13, demanding
\ncompensation of more than Rp 1.2 trillion (US$125 million) for
\nthe immaterial and material damages and losses caused by the
\nrecent floods.<\/p>\n
The authorities were blamed mainly for their failure to give
\nearly warning information and provide necessary emergency
\nresponse prompting more than 97,000 families or 365,000 people to
\nleave their homes and take shelter for weeks.<\/p>\n
\"If they provided early warning information and immediate
\nresponse in support of the residents, the losses could have been
\ngreatly mitigated,\" said one of the lawyers, Tubagus Haryo
\nKarbyanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH).<\/p>\n
Erni, a resident of Kampung Sawah, Rawa Malang, North Jakarta
\nsaid she attended the trial with great interest.<\/p>\n
\"I hope we'll win and get compensation. I need money for
\nworking capital to restart my destroyed poultry breeding
\nbusiness,\" said Erni, who came to the court along with her baby.
\nHer husband works as freelance porter at Tanjung Priok port.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs' team of lawyers consisting of 32 pro bono
\nlawyers will face top-notch lawyers hired by Sutiyoso - Mohammad
\nAssegaf, Yan Juanda Saputra, and R.E. Abikusno.<\/p>\n
Both Assegaf and Yan are known for their work with high
\nprofile clients.<\/p>\n
Nainggolan had criticized Sutiyoso's decision to hire
\nexpensive lawyers instead of assigning the city administration's
\nlegal bureau to handle the case. He also questioned the source of
\nthe money to pay them, creating speculation among observers that
\ncity budget funds may have been misallocated for his own defense.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hearing-adjourned-flood-victims-disappointed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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