Lapindo book author forced to stay in hiding

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Mon, July 30 2012



The author of a book which criticizes Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie for his poor handling of the Lapindo mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java, has been forced to live in hiding with his family for fear of possible retribution.

Taufik Budiman, who represented Ali Azhar Akbar, author of the book Lapindo File: Konspirasi SBY-Bakrie (Lapindo File: Conspiracy of SBY-Bakrie), said that after he was reported to be missing, Ali had sent messages that he had to stay in hiding and would only come out when the moment is right.

“The language that he used in the text message matched his style and we can be sure that the messages were sent by him. For now, we are grateful for the fact that he made contact, which means that he is still alive and safe,” Taufik told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Ali went missing after last making contact with his lawyer, M. Taufik Budiman, shortly before the launch of his book at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) campus on June 20. Other reports say that Ali lost contact with Taufik two days before the event.

Ali is an environmental activist who wrote two previous books about the Lapindo mudflow, Konspirasi di Balik Lumpur Lapindo: Dari Aktor Hingga Strategi Kotor (Conspiracy Behind Lapindo Mudflow: From Actors to Dirty Tricks) published by Galang Pers in 2007 and Lapindo File published by Indopetro Publishing House in
May. In his book, Ali argued that an accident in the drilling activity on May 26, 2006, by Lapindo Brantas Incorporated (LBI), owned by Golkar Party chairman and tycoon Aburizal Bakrie, was the cause of the mudflow.

Ali and his two colleagues filed a judicial review with the Constitutional Court citing Law No. 4/2012 article 18 on the 2012 revised state budget that allows for the channeling of state funds to deal with the mudflow.

Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Person and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Surabaya Andy Irfan Junaidi said late last week that it was possible that Ali went into hiding with his family members because they were all out of reach.

“A few friends who have direct access to Ali said that his whereabouts were being kept a secret and that we should not try to find him yet,” Andy said.

Andy said that Ali and his family could likely face threats from certain parties.

“This complicates our investigation because now we have to deal with a kind of threat that forced him to hide himself,” he added.

According to Andy, it is possible that Ali’s activism and statements made him the target of intimidation.

“He received several death threats via text messages or cell phone before and after the book launch and the judicial review,” Andy said.

Kontras national coordinator Haris Azhar, said that Ali’s disappearance indicated that missing person cases could still occur in a democratic society.

“This incident proves that missing persons cases can still happen long after 1998. The perpetrators who kidnapped people during the New Order era remain free until now. There is no deterrent effect, because they were not being punished,” Haris told the Post.

Haris was referring to chief patron of the Greater National Movement (Gerindra) Party Prabowo Soebianto, who was once held accountable for the disappearance of pro-democracy activists in the twilight of the New Order regime.

“Prabowo has even wanted to run for president. It goes to show that missing person cases are considered commonplace,” he added.

Haris said that currently there were laws that could protect individuals from being abducted.

“The mass abduction that happened during the New Order would be unlikely to happen today, but there is still a chance,“ Haris said.

Last week, a victim of the Lapindo mudflow made a shocking move by apologizing to Aburizal on national television.

Hari Suwandi, who walked 827 kilometers from Surabaya to Jakarta, apologized to Aburizal for besmirching his family name in the protest.

Responding to Hari’s about-face, Bakrie said on Sunday that history would finally vindicate him. “It’s getting clearer, which is right and which is wrong.

I was accused of colluding with Gayus. Gayus had recently spoken out himself,” Bakrie said, referring to junior tax official Gayus Tambunan.