YLBHI demands full information on Bogor fire
YLBHI demands full information on Bogor fire
BOGOR, West Java (JP): The authorities must be open with the
public over the fire which razed the Kebon Kembang market on
Thursday, according to the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid
Institute (YLBHI).
"The statement of the Bogor mayor Eddy Gunardi, which insisted
there were only 10 victims, reflects an official's arrogance in
explaining a public problem," Hendardi, the foundation's
communications director, said yesterday.
"It would be wiser for an official to state that
investigations will be completed ... rather than hanging onto
data without reliable arguments," Hendardi said.
This could lead to the impression that the authorities are
trying to cover up the subject, he said. He also lashed out at
the authorities for denying the press access to information.
Based on the number of plastic bags carried by rescue workers
from the third floor of the Ramayana Department Store, media
reports said there were at least 76 fatalities.
Survivors
The Kompas daily yesterday cited survivors who said dozens of
fellow employees scattered to save themselves when the fire broke
out at around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday before they started to check
merchandise.
Meanwhile, market traders said they saw more than 10 Ramayana
employees in the shop when the fire broke out.
"They were lining up at the windows looking for an exit and
screaming for help," said Ema, a trader.
"Why does it take so long for the police and doctors to
differentiate between ashes of humans and mannequins?" another
trader, Sarni, said.
On Saturday the mayor said only 10 bags contained human bodies
and the other 66 plastic bags contained the department store's
burned mannequins or dead cats.
Many people raised eyebrows on hearing the statements as they
believed the experienced rescue team members were capable of
distinguishing burned human bodies from other burned materials.
"How could the team members have been sloppy by putting burned
mannequins and cats into plastic bags and carried and treated the
bags in such a way as if they contained human bodies?" a resident
who had been following the rescue team's activities at the fire
site said.
Red Cross Hospital officials and rescue team members were
tight-lipped to the media since the mayor made the statements on
Saturday. The hospital morgue has been closed to public.
Ramayana employees said they had been instructed not to talk
to reporters. The fire site and the Red Cross hospital were still
tightly guarded.
These strange actions could lead to increased suspicions of
efforts to manipulate facts, Hendardi said.
The questionable statements of the mayor triggered a protest
by 50 students yesterday. They expressed anger at the closed
proceedings.
The Institute for the Defense of Human Rights, chaired by
H.J.C. Princen, also questioned whether the management
prioritized the safety of merchandise over that of its employees,
as most doors could not be opened at the time of the fire. The
Institute also reminded the public to uphold the principle of
presumption of innocence.
Smoke was still rising from the site four days after the fire.
Budi Sampurna, a pathologist at the hospital, told The Jakarta
Post yesterday that the ashes in the remaining 66 plastic bags
are still under examination by the forensics team.
"There is a small possibility that they are human ashes but
let us see within a week," he said. He had earlier said it would
take a week to examine the contents of the 66 plastic bags sent
to the hospital.
Meanwhile Suwarto, Director General for Industrial Relations
and Labor Standards under the Ministry of Manpower, alleged the
Ramayana management has ignored labor safety standards.
The latest examinations by Ministry officials last March and
June revealed there were two extinguishers and one exit which
were accessible, he said. But they could not be used at the time
of the fire, he added.
Suwarto said rules on safety standards do not mention the
required number of exits. However an architect, Boy Birawa, said
earlier that exits are mandatory for every 30-meter segment of a
building.
Suwarto said that, according to a 1970 labor safety law, the
management faces a three-month jail sentence or a fine of Rp
100,000 (US$42.44) if it is found guilty of ignoring safety
standards.
Suwarto said he is also checking the number of fatalities with
the Bogor branch of the state-owned company running social
security insurance, PT Jamsostek.
If the management is proved to have not registered employees
it faces a six-month prison sentence or a fine of Rp 50 million,
he said. (03/rms/anr)
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