Japan asks Indonesia to compensate villagers affected by dam: Report

Japan in an unexpected move has asked the Indonesian government to compensate villagers on Sumatra Island forcibly resettled from their land to make way for a Tokyo-funded hydropower dam, Kyodo News quoted a diplomatic sources as saying on Tuesday.

Japan takes issue with Indonesia's failure to fulfill pledges to provide replacement rubber plantations and clean well water to villagers displaced by the construction of Kotopanjang Dam, according to the sources.

Jakarta has received the request and is now speeding up the crafting of measures to aid the villagers, they said.

The request follows reports that some 3,000 people from 13 villages on the island are planning to file a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against the Japanese government for losses they suffered due to forced resettlement.

The move marks the first time for a project to be paid for by Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to be legally challenged.

Kotopanjang Dam, built on a protected forest and traditionally owned land in the provinces of Riau and West Sumatra, was completed in 1997 at a cost of 36.4 billion yen. Of the total amount, 31.18 billion yen was paid for by a yen-denominated government loan.

As a result of the dam construction, 12,400 hectares of fertile valley land have been submerged and 4,866 families forcibly moved.

The villagers have been left without proper living facilities, such as clean well water on the resettled land, and have not been guaranteed job opportunities there, becoming "developmental refugees," according to supporters of the villagers.

The dam has also damaged the natural environment in the area, with elephants and other animals facing starvation, they said.

Japanese government sources said the aid project was meant to serve as a "model case" of having the recipient country fulfill conditions such as obtaining the consent of villagers to resettle and preserving the environment. (*)