Nuclear bill blocked by deadlock

Nuclear bill blocked by deadlock

JAKARTA (JP): Deliberation on the controversial government-
sponsored bill on nuclear power plants has come to a stand-still
because legislators have failed to agree on "substantial
matters."

A legislator contacted by The Jakarta Post refused to explain
what section of the bill caused the deadlock last Thursday. But
sources say the impasse was partly caused by legislators refusing
to comply with the Dec. 12 deadline imposed by the government for
finalizing deliberations.

In previous hearings, issues that caused disagreement included
the establishment of a body to monitor the operation of the
planned nuclear power plant, and a demand from the House that
their approval be sought for plant construction.

"The process has been tough. We have been facing a deadlock
since the second day of final deliberations," said Muhammad Buang
of the United Development Party (PPP).

The final phase of deliberations on the bill began on Nov. 13,
five days earlier than originally scheduled. This phase has been
closed to the public whereas earlier stages have been open. The
government submitted the bill on nuclear power to the House of
Representatives on Jan. 28 and expected to see it passed by Dec.
12.

The bill has attracted much criticism, with many people
accusing the government of turning a deaf ear to concerns about
the planned construction of a nuclear power plant. Some say the
bill was prepared only to pave the way for building the plant.

Anung Karyadi of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment
(Walhi), one of the staunchest critics of the planned plant, said
the bill contains nothing but procedures for legitimizing the
plant.

Despite widespread opposition, the National Atomic Energy
Agency (Batan) has said it will go ahead with the plan to build a
1,800 megawatt nuclear power plant on the Muria peninsula in
Central Java. Operations are expected to begin in 2003.

On Tuesday, the government installed Iyos S. Subki as the new
director of atomic energy replacing long-serving Djali Ahimsa.

Djali had earlier claimed Indonesia would need seven to 12
nuclear plants to meet the expected demand of 27,000 megawatts of
electricity from homes and industries in Java and Bali in the
foreseeable future.

Iyos had led the team on site and feasibility studies, which
found that the planned plant would meet commercial and
environmental requirements.

Yesterday, Buang rejected opinions that the earlier, open
deliberation was concluded prematurely and failed to solve
substantial questions.

"'Substantial matters' in the deliberation of a bill are
usually solved at closed hearings, anyway," Buang said. He said
no new deadline had been set by which the House would have to
break the impasse and reach an agreement.

Critics of the bill, including those from non-governmental
organizations and the House of Representatives, have said that
only those in favor of the bill were given ample opportunity to
speak in the previous hearings.

Refusing to go into detail, Buang said the disagreement in the
House was exacerbated by the absence of the State Minister of
Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, who represented the
government.

Habibie is said to be accompanying his wife for medical
treatment in Germany.

The final stage of deliberations had been arranged with
Habibie's presence in mind, Buang said, adding that Habibie's
representative in the ongoing debate does not dare make decisions
on the contentious issues. (06)