President Yudhoyono Urges Bakrie & Brothers to Complete Compensation
Friday, 28 November, 2008 | 08:49 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: President Yudhoyono summoned an executive of Bakrie & Brothers group, a business controlled by the family of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie to force the business to complete payment to Lapindo mudflow victims in East Java.

Nirwan Bakrie chairman of Bakrie & Brothers met the president in a closed meeting on Thursday evening and the Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto told the press that the president urged the company to complete a total of Rp 49 billion compensation for the victims.

Djoko also said Nirwan the younger brother of Forbes' Indonesia's richest person in 2007 pledged to settle the payment next week.

The meeting came hours after the East Java Provincial administration released a statement after the regional budget evaluation on the same day that the regional administration could not force Lapindo to settle the compensation as financial crisis have also affected the company.

Compensation for the mudflow victims from a limited areas has been regulated through the Presidential Decree no 14 of 2007. Disputes on compensation grew in parallel to the growing affected area as mudflow spur continuously from the gas exploration site operated by Lapindo Brantas in Sidoarjo regency since May 2006.

NININ DAMAYANTI