Trial resumes over ODA-funded project<\/p>\n
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau<\/p>\n
The Tokyo District Court will resume the trial in the case
\ninvolving Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) on
\nThursday over a controversial hydroelectric power plant project
\n(PLTA) in Kampar regency, Riau province.<\/p>\n
The trial will hear a defense plea from the defendants
\nincluding the Tokyo Electric Power Service, the Japan
\nInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Bank for
\nInternational Cooperation (JBIC), as well as from the ODA.<\/p>\n
In the first day of the hearing on Sept. 5, 2003, Japanese
\nsenior lawyer Fumio Asano, on behalf of 3,861 Indonesian
\nvillagers affected by the ODA-funded project, demanded that the
\ncourt order the defendants to pay the plaintiffs US$165 million
\nin compensation.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs, comprising those from two villages in Riau and
\n12 others in neighboring West Sumatra province, are being
\nassisted by several non-governmental organizations, including the
\nIndonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).<\/p>\n
"In the upcoming trial on Oct. 9, we will hear answers from
\nthe defendants," Riau's Walhi director M. Teguh told The Jakarta
\nPost on Monday.<\/p>\n
He said the plaintiffs wanted the Japanese authorities to be
\nheld responsible for the Kotopanjang power project in Koto Kampar
\nsubdistrict, which they said had caused environmental damage in
\nnearby areas.<\/p>\n
The ODA gave Indonesia 31.77 billion yen (around Rp 2.1
\ntrillion) to finance the PLTA project that started operation in
\nFebruary 1998 with a capacity of 338 megawatts.<\/p>\n
Teguh said that Walhi has also filed a separate lawsuit
\nagainst the same Japanese defendants, demanding that they
\nrehabilitate the habitats of wild animals, like Sumatran tigers
\nand elephants, which were damaged by the PLTA dam project.<\/p>\n
The legal action was taken because the project operators had
\npromised to give assistance funds to safeguard the protected
\nspecies from extinction, he argued.<\/p>\n
However, he added that the promised funds had never been
\ndisbursed.<\/p>\n
Separately on Monday, Mohamad Zajali, director of Riau's
\nKalipatra non-governmental organization that is also assisting
\nthe 3,861 plaintiffs, said around 23,000 villagers had been
\nrelocated for the project but did not receive proper compensation
\nfor their land.<\/p>\n
The victims from the affected 12 villages were intimidated by
\nlocal authorities involved in the project construction, he said.<\/p>\n
Zajali said these grievances were aired by Fumio Asano during
\nthe first trial at the Tokyo District Court.<\/p>\n
Moreover, thousands of hectares of farmland and rubber
\nplantations belonging to local residents often become submerged
\nin floodwaters as the Kampar river was dammed up for the PLTA
\nproject, he said.<\/p>\n
He accused the project operators of also failing to fulfill
\ntheir promise to give the victims two hectares of rubber
\nplantation per family in compensation.<\/p>\n
The project was carried out when the current Riau governor,
\nSaleh Djasit, served as the Kampar regent. However, to this
\npoint, the problems with the compensation has not been settled
\nyet.<\/p>\n
Zajali said the legal move against the Japan government and
\nits agencies won support from Kazou Sumi, a law professor from
\nthe Niigata National University in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Sumi was quoted by Zajuli as saying the case highlighted
\ndamages suffered by local people as a result of Japan-funded
\nprojects.<\/p>\n
So far, the Japanese government has financed public works
\nprojects in the interests of Japan's politicians, bureaucrats and
\nconstruction companies, and officials from countries who received
\nthe assistance, Sumi added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trial-resumes-over-oda-funded-project-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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