Learning from The East Java Mudflow.Disaster Politics in an Un-natural Disaster
15/11/2007 - 15:30
15 November 2007
15.30 - 17.00 hrs
Leiden Southeast Asia Seminar by Dr Jim Schiller from the Flinders University School of Political and International Studies
Venue: KITLV, Reuvensplaats 2, 2311 BE, Leiden
Room 138
In May 2006 a well drilling for natural gas just outside Surabaya experienced a ‘blow out'. Hot toxic mud has been gushing out of the ground ever since. In one year enough mud has flowed out of the ground to bury Den Haag's business district to a depth of 13 meters and no-one knows when it will stop. The mud has buried 12 villages and forced at least 50,000 people to abandon their homes, It also blocked major rail and road links and destroyed gas pipelines and other infrastructure. The SBY government 's concern about the victims has not been obvious and its efforts to limit the damage and to provide humanitarian assistance and compensation have seemed slow, disorganized and ineffective. Until October 2007 the financing of the relief and mitigation efforts and compensation has been entirely by the majority owner/operator of the well, PT Lapindo Brantas which is a part of a conglomerate owned by Aburizal Bakrie who is the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare!
Jim Schiller, a senior lecturer in the Flinders University School of Political and International Studies in Adelaide, is currently a Visiting Scholar at KITLV. His research interests include Indonesian local civil society, the politics of elections and participation including local civil society, local resource politics and democratisation in Indonesia participation politics of elections and issues in decentralization, all with a Jepara focus. And, more recently, the mud disaster politics in East Java.
For more information please contact Ireen Hoogenboom at hoogenboom@kitlv.nl or 071 527 2295.
The Leiden Southeast Asia Seminar is a co-operation of the IIAS, ISIM, VVI, KITLV and the Department of Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology, Leiden University