Pressure Mounts for the Lapindo Case to Go to Court
Tuesday, 09 December, 2008 | 00:07 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Surabaya:Suparto Wijoyo, an environmental law expert from Airlangga University, has urged the East Java District Attorney's Office to bring the Lapindo mudflow case to court as soon as possible. "This is to ensure legal certainty," he said.

Suparto is of the opinion that the police and the lawyers in mired in the debate between geologists and oil industry experts on the causes of the mudflow. One party claims the cause was a natural disaster, while the other says it was caused by human error. "Therefore, the legal process is going nowhere," he said. The East Java District Attorney, Zulkarnain, said there are no plans yet to bring the Lapindo mudflow case to court due to lack of evidence. "If there is not enough evidence, why bring it to court?" he asked.

The East Java District Attorney's Office has returned the documents of 13 suspects of the Lapindo mudflow case to the police three times. The last time was on February 6. The suspects in the case include Rahenold, Subie, and Slamet B.K. (PT Medici Citra Nusa's drilling supervisor), Williem Hunila (Lapindo's company man), and Edi Sutriono (drilling supervisor).

KUKUH S WIBOWO