Supreme Court's reversal deplored

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)