Walhi sues government over liability for Bahorok flash flood
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan
After three months of investigation, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) brought an action on Tuesday in Medan against the central government, arguing that it should be held responsible for the deadly Bahorok flash flood last year.
Besides suing the government, the non-governmental organization (NGO) has also named the director of the Mount Leuser National Park board, the director of the Leuser Management Unit, the North Sumatra governor and the Leuser International Foundation as co-defendants.
Walhi lawyer Mangaliat Simarmata said that the lawsuit should have been filed with the court a few months ago, but the NGO had decided to hold off until Tuesday as it wanted to finish its investigation first.
After three months of investigation, the NGO said it now had conclusive evidence that the Bahorok, Langkat regency, disaster was due to unchecked illegal logging in the forests surrounding Bahorok.
This runs counter to the government's claim that the flash flood was nothing more than a normal, albeit tragic, natural phenomenon.
"We were in no rush. We collected the evidence first, than we filed the lawsuit," said Mangaliat, after handing the legal papers over to the district court registrar in Medan.
According to Mangaliat, the evidence unearthed by Walhi during the investigation included proof of illegal logging in the Leuser Ecosystem.
Due to the illegal logging, some 45,000 hectares of forest in the upper reaches of the Bahorok River, which are located within the area of the KEL, has been laid waste, he said.
Before the onset of widespread illegal logging in the area, four generations of local people had lived along the Bahorok River, and had never experienced flash floods or other natural disasters. "But, since the rampant illegal logging that has been occurring over the past few years, there have been frequent floods along the Bahorok River, and the worst was the Bahorok tragedy last year," said Mangaliat.
The disaster happened after floodwaters ripped through the Bukit Lawang tourist resort on the banks of the Bahorok river, killing some 180 people. Eighty others are still unaccounted for.
In its 21-page statement of claim, Walhi requested the court to hold all the defendants liable for the deadly flood due to their negligence in failing to prevent illegal logging on the upper reaches of the Bahorok river.
Walhi also urged the Medan court to order the government to arrest those responsible for the illegal logging. In addition, it demanded that the government and its co-defendants apologize to the families of the victims.
The NGO further urged the government to reimburse the cost of the investigation carried out by Walhi to the tune of Rp 100 million (US$ 10,526).
Herwin Nasution, the executive director of Walhi's North Sumatra branch, said that the action had been brought as the government had never come clean over the tragedy.
"This lawsuit will educate the public as to the fact that the government should act more responsibly as regards forest conservation," said Herwin.
Meanwhile, North Sumatra provincial administration spokesman Eddy Sofyan said that the governor would contest the action.