Parung clash blamed on legal inconsistency
Parung clash blamed on legal inconsistency
JAKARTA (JP): The clash between Cibentang residents and police
officers over the installation of high-voltage electric cables
resulted from legal inconsistencies, a lawyer says.
Senior lawyer Luhut M. Pangaribuan, director of the Legal Aid
Institute, said Saturday he wondered why the Ministry of Mines
and Energy had enacted Decree No: 15/1992, which excluded paying
compensation for land and other properties passed by high-voltage
electricity cables.
This decree says, people can live under the stretch of a high-
voltage electric cable, while Luhut said; "Living under high-
voltage electricity cables is very dangerous".
Luhut was discussing the dispute between the Cibentang
villagers and the state-owned electricity company PT PLN, which
is backed by military and police officers.
The dispute began after residents' demands for land
compensation was refused by PLN. The authorities are of the
opinion that the residents do not deserve land and building
compensation because they did not need to sacrifice their land
and houses to make way for the cable. PLN provided compensation
only for the plants and trees cut down during the cable
installation.
Cibentang village is located in the Parung district, Bogor, 60
km south of Jakarta.
The dispute reached its peak Thursday when, according to eye
witnesses and residents, anti-riot policemen beat the protesting
residents.
Many residents were injured.
Police have denied the beating, alleging the defunct
Indonesian Communist Party was behind the residents' protest.
Luhut said he believed nobody would be held responsible if an
accident befell those living under the 500-Kilo-Volt cable. "It
is possible the cable could fall and hit the houses," he said.
Radiation
He said there had been reports that high-voltage electric
radiation caused health problems.
Luhut said the Ministerial Decree No: 15/1992 should have
followed the higher-level regulation. "The decree is not in
accordance with Law No.15/1985 on energy plants. This law
guarantees compensation for land and houses which are passed by
electricity cables," he said.
He said the Cibentang residents could file a lawsuit against
the ministry for violating the law.
Luhut said the Cibentang clash reflected a kind of business
collusion between the government officials and military and
police officers.
The security officers not only guarded the technicians, but
they were involved in the installation, he said.
He said government officials should behave properly to the
public.
"I don't think the police officers understand how to properly
use their authority," he said.
He cited former justice Bustanul Arifin's recent comment that
law enforcement had been much weakened due to rampant, overt
corruption.
"The bureaucracy is now offering services for money," Luhut
said quoting the Justice. (07)