Government criticized nuke plant announcement

Government criticized nuke plant announcement

JAKARTA (JP): Anti-nuclear activists were angered yesterday
over the government's announcement that construction of a nuclear
power plant would start in 2006.

The activists accused State Minister of Research and
Technology B.J. Habibie of inconsistency, saying the announcement
Tuesday reneged his earlier vow that nuclear power would be the
country's last option.

Habibie said less than two months ago that even if Indonesia
decided to take the option, construction would not begin before
2030.

President Soeharto enacted last Thursday the law on nuclear
power, which provides the legal basis for the establishment of a
nuclear power plant.

Habibie said Tuesday construction of the country's first
nuclear power plant on the slopes of a dormant volcano in Jepara,
Central Java would start in 2006.

Legislator Laksmiari Priyonggo of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) faction questioned the secrecy shrouding the
government's decision to make construction of a nuclear power
plant a priority.

"The government had earlier pledged to make nuclear the last
energy source option. But it turned out that it has continued the
campaign for nuclear energy," she said.

Laksmiari walked out of a House of Representatives plenary
session that endorsed the nuclear power bill on Feb. 26, saying
that the session's attendance did not meet the quorum to pass a
bill.

An activist of the Anti-nuclear Society (MANI), Dian Abraham,
accused the government of paying lip service when Habibie said
the bill would not legitimate the nuclear power plant.

The remarks served only to appease public fear and halt
controversy over the nuclear power plant, Dian said. "Public
skepticism over the government's real intention at the time was
proved to be realistic," Dian said.

Dian said the government should first revise the bill before
making it into law. "The right to decide on the use of nuclear
power should be given to the people," he said.

He said that Indonesian people are culturally not ready to
respond to any potential effects of such sophisticated
technology.

"Many people were scared when an earthquake jolted the city,
even though everybody knows that this country is prone to
earthquakes," he said.

Another PDI legislator, Marcel Beding, questioned the
necessity of the nuclear law, saying that Indonesia is not
competing against other countries in nuclear energy appliance.

He also questioned the speedy enactment of the law. He said
the law on broadcasting, which the House passed earlier, was more
urgent as Indonesia faced imminent threats from global media.

Marcel chaired the House's special committee deliberating the
bill on broadcasting which the House endorsed early in December.

"Its strange that an important bill takes such a long time to
be passed into law," he said.

He admitted that his committee wasted a lot of time finding
appropriate terms, rather than discussing more substantial
matters of the bill. (amd)