Walhi sues government over liability for Bahorok flash flood
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.