Sumatra villagers to challenge Japan's ODA in court
Monday, July 8 2002 - 11:35 AM WIB
About 3,000 people from 13 villages on the island are planning to file a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court to seek compensation from the Japanese government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Tokyo Electric Power Services Co. (TEPSCO).
JICA and JBIC are affiliated with the Japanese government, while TEPSCO belongs to a business group headed by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
The four were involved in building Kotopanjang Dam, which caused the plaintiffs and 20,000 other villagers to be forcibly resettled, the Japanese supporters for the plaintiffs said.
The dam was completed in 1997 at a cost of 31.18 billion yen paid for by a yen-denominated government loan, according to the supporters. It is located in the middle of the island on the border between Riau and West Sumatra provinces.
"The construction of Kotopanjang Dam was proposed by a Japanese consulting agency, the funds for it were extended by Japanese government-affiliated bodies, and a Japanese contractor, together with local construction firms, received the order," one supporter said.
According to the supporters, the local residents 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."
The dam has also damaged the natural environment in the area, with elephants and other animals facing starvation, they said.
"The plaintiffs and local residents are seeking restoration of their living conditions and natural environment, while voices are growing among them to dismantle the dam," said Akihiko Oguchi, who heads the Japanese lawyers representing the plaintiffs. "We may include its removal in our demands when we file the suit."
According to Oguchi, it will be impossible for plaintiffs to seek Tokyo's decision to remove it because the dam is now owned by the Indonesian government, but "at least we will urge the Japanese government in court to recommend its Indonesian counterpart to do so."
The amount of compensation that the plaintiffs will demand has not yet been decided, the supporters said.
Oguchi, a Tokyo-based lawyer, said the downfall of President Suharto in May 1998 paved the way for the plaintiffs to work actively, together with Japanese lawyers and supporters.
"It was difficult for them before the democratization of Indonesia to mount a legal fight with our help," he said.
Several Indonesian lawyers will also participate in the lawsuit to represent the plaintiffs, he said.
Oguchi also said the Japanese supporters will soon file a taxpayers' suit claiming that the government misused public funds to foot the bill for the controversial dam project.
"Besides supporting the Indonesian plaintiffs, we need to fulfill our responsibilities as Japanese to correct our government's misdeeds," he said.
Kazuo Sumi, a professor at Niigata University specializing in international law who heads the supporters' group, said, "Japan has angered the local residents and damaged the environment under the name of assistance."
"As Tokyo has been irresponsible for its uses of ODA, we, the taxpayers, decided to do something about it," he said.
Japan's Foreign Ministry and TEPSCO said they cannot comment on the planned lawsuit before it is filed. (*)