Evacuees allege mismanagement of recent floods
Evacuees allege mismanagement of recent floods
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of Jakarta residents staged a noisy protest against the government yesterday for the handling of the major flood sweeping the city that killed six people early this week.
"Arrest me, shoot me if you will, I am not afraid... I will bear testimony for those who are perpetually being marginalized," a man was heard shouting at the gates of the State Ministry of Environment office.
The man is one of a group of 50 people who claim to be residents of the East Jakarta district of Cawang, one of the hardest-hit districts in the city.
"My nephew died," "My sister is missing," "My feet are injured," "Where are those funds you promised us?" "I'm ashamed to be an Indonesian," shouted the crowd, some of whom were smeared with mud.
Four of them representing the group were eventually invited into a security guard booth.
"We do not expect this disaster to happen and we will try to do our best as soon as possible," said Sudariyono, an assistant to the minister.
"This disaster is not God-sent," said the flood victims, "it is a result of human error."
Prior to the meeting, the group distributed pamphlets that put the blame on the government for allowing the affluent to build golf courses, housing complexes in the nearby mountain resort thereby eliminating the vital trees to absorb rain water.
Earlier, a different group of 13 people who also claimed to have come from the same district lodged their complaints at the office.
The group was received by three government officials at the conference room.
"I am disheartened by the lack of concern shown to us," said Dayat, the coordinator of the Cawang III Spontaneous Youth Formation.
"We have received virtually nothing from the government except official inspection," he said.
"It's ironic how we, already devastated and impoverished victims, are still hard-pressed to pay for medical expenses," said Denny Tamdani, a rice merchant. "My husband had to pay Rp. 18,000 for his nail-punctured finger."
Sudarsono, secretary to the minister, said that the disaster was something we had not expected to happen.
"We will try our best to take immediate action," he said.
The group demanded that the government immediately provide medical aid, clean away animal carcasses and provide clean water for fear of infectious diseases.
"The flood is the result of various complex issues," said Tati Krisnawaty, 35, a member of the group, "not merely natural disaster. It essentially boils down to societies' indifferent attitude toward the environment."
Some government officials had earlier put the blame of the flood on the people.
Krisnawaty added that the problem arose because of faulty implementation of zoning plans, lack of attention to detail in environmental analysis as well as the public's own ignorance.
She urged the government to take a holistic view of development and seek curative and preventative solution based on the view.
Meanwhile, a researcher at the University of Indonesia's Human Resource and Environmental Research Center urged the government to incorporate environmental impact analysis into zoning plans.
"So far it has not been compulsory to include the environmental impact analysis into zoning plans," Bianpoen told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
Many water catchment areas, especially in North Jakarta, have been eliminated, he said. More than 30 percent of North Jakarta, he said, is supposed to have a water catchment function.
Chalid Muhammad, another environmental scientist said that Indonesians have not developed an environmentally-conscious oriented vision of development.
"Countless government policies allow people to build houses on Puncak which is a water-ooze zone," he told The Jakarta Post yesterday. (14/01)