Supreme Court's reversal deplored

JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights yesterday criticized the Supreme Court's decision to reverse its own ruling on the Kedung Ombo land dispute.

"The latest ruling of the Supreme Court surprised the National Commission on Human Rights," Baharuddin Lopa, the Commission's secretary general told reporters in a press conference.

"We deeply regret that the Court reversed its previous ruling," said Lopa, who at the press meeting was accompanied by Roekmini Koesoemo Astoeti, a member of the Commission.

Lopa said that his remark was based on an official statement signed by Ali Said, the commission's chairman.

The commission still expects that the 34 local villagers will finally get a fair and objective decision in their prolonged efforts to get sufficient compensation for their lands, which were cleared to make way for the construction of a large-scale dam project in Kedung Ombo, Central Java.

The Supreme Court's decision to reverse the ruling was announced to the press on Monday by outgoing Chief Justice Purwoto Suhadi Gandasubrata on the day he handed over the post to his successor R. Soerjono.

Earlier, Purwoto and the Court were lauded by various political and legal circles on the first ruling, which ordered the government to pay compensation to the villagers whose lands were procured by the state for the huge reservoir.

Senior Judge Zainal Asikin Kusumah Atmadja, who presided over the Supreme Court of appeal, ruled that the government must pay Rp 50,000 per square meter of land to the villagers, in contrast to Rp 4,000 offered by the government and Rp 10,000 sought by the villagers.

The Court also ordered the government to pay Rp 2 billion ($952,000) in "non-material" losses to the farmers.

Two lower courts had previously passed rulings in favor of the government.

The reversal of the nation's highest court's decision came after the government, in this case the Central Java provincial government and the Ministry of Public Works, applied for a review of the case with the Supreme Court.

The rights commission, however, did not provide any substantial solution to ratify its deep sympathy towards the 34 local villagers. The commission's secretary general confirmed that the two-paragraph statement was totally understandable and repeatedly refused to give further explanation on its statement.

"It is only your own interpretation of our statement," Roekmini said when a reporter asked her whether the rights commission agrees with Zainal's decision.

Meanwhile, Soegiri, another member of the commission, said after the press conference that the commission had not expect the court's reverse decision.

"We predicted that the court would only revise its previous ruling," he said.

Soegiri, who came after the press conference altogether with Marzuki Darusman, the commission's deputy chairman, and Albert Hasibuan, another commission's member, said he regretted that the local villagers have not had the opportunity to benefit from the land compensation.

However, he said, the 34 villagers could still expect a fair decision from the Central Java Governor regarding the amount of the compensation. They can also disagree with the governor's decision, he said.

According to Presidential Decree No. 55/1993, the governor must report to the President if the villagers refuse to accept his decision, Soegiri said. The President will revoke the ownership of the land, based on the Act No. 20/1961, and then determine the amount of the compensation.

Soegiri, former deputy Chief Justice for Military Cases, said the villagers could file a civil lawsuit to the local high court, if they still disapprove with the President's decision.

Soegiri said the villagers can go to the State Administrative Court and sue the governor if the governor does not report the dispute to the President.

Marzuki had a similar statement on the court's decision.

"We do not understand why the whole content of the villagers' lawsuit was rejected," he said.

However, there is still an opportunity to revise the court's decision: namely, by fulfilling the villagers' demand for compensation of Rp 10,000 per square meter of land, he said. (imn)