Nuclear bill closed for public input

JAKARTA (JP): Deliberation on the controversial bill on nuclear energy at the House of Representatives has entered the final stages closed to public input, critics of the draft law said yesterday.

Activists and a legislator said in a press conference held by the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) that the bill was a clear example of how the state prevents people opposed to nuclear projects from participating in the law-making process.

They claim that legislators deliberating the bill are virtually ignorant about matters pertaining to nuclear power.

The nuclear bill was submitted to the house by the government on Jan. 28 and is expected to pass into law by Dec. 12. Open debates took place last week.

"The deliberation process was conducted hastily and closed shoddily. Opportunity to speak up was only given to those who were supportive of building the nuclear power plant and ignorant about it," Emmy Hafild, director of Walhi, said.

Observers say that passing the future law would be tacitly endorsing the building of a nuclear power plant.

The National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) is planning to build a 1800 megawatt nuclear power plant on the Muria peninsula in Central Java. It is expected to begin operations in 2003.

Djali Ahimsa, the director general of atomic energy, claims Indonesia will need between seven and 12 nuclear reactors to provide the 27,000 megawatts of electricity expected to be required by homes and industries in Java and Bali in the foreseeable future.

Laksmiari Priyonggo from the Indonesian Democratic Party said the open deliberation was held in five consecutive days and did not address substantial matters.

"Most of the legislators who took part knew next to nothing about nuclear energy," said Laksmiari, an adamant opponent of the plant building who took part in the deliberation process.

According to Laksmiari, State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, who attended last week's debates, had made statements that strengthened speculations that the bill was a mere ploy to finally legitimize the nuclear plant.

Anung Karyadi, also from Walhi, said the bill addresses only energy issues related to nuclear power plants and does not mention anything about risks, storing the waste or using it for health or science.

"If there was any reform, it was just minor word choices such as saying storing nuclear waste instead of dumping it," Anung said.

All three agree that the government has turned a deaf ear to input from the people.

In January, Walhi conducted a survey in eight cities in Java and areas around the Muria Peninsula which found that 77.7 percent of respondents were opposed to building a nuclear power plant.

"We were invited to raise our objections and give suggestions to the bill but the hearing was canceled," Emmy said, adding that the bill failed to incorporate other laws such as environmental and population laws.

Walhi promised to continue to give insights through lobbying with legislators.

"Just be prepared, we are creating our own catastrophe by having the nuclear power plant because mistakes are bound to happen and we don't seem to have learned from other countries' experiences," Emmy said. (14)