Japan court rejects Indonesian villagers' dam suit

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura AFP 10 Sep 09;

TOKYO — A Japanese court Thursday rejected a lawsuit filed by thousands of Indonesian villagers against the government who claimed that a Tokyo-funded dam damaged the environment and forced them to resettle.

More than 23,000 residents from Sumatra Island in western Indonesia were forced to relocate after the hydroelectric Koto Panjang Dam was completed in 1997 with Japanese aid, flooding a large valley.

Around 8,400 plaintiffs had sought a total of 42 billion yen (452 million dollars) in compensation from Tokyo and called on the government to pressure Jakarta to remove the dam and restore their former living conditions.

The Tokyo Court rejected the claim, finding that the Indonesian government was responsible for securing residents' approval and assessing the environmental impact before giving the green light to Japan.

"The case is an internal matter for the Indonesian government to deal with," presiding judge Yasushi Nakamura said, adding that "the Japanese government sufficiently handled the procedures" before building the dam.

The dam, located on the border between Riau and West Sumatra provinces, was built at a cost of 300 million dollars to generate hydropower, leading to the flooding of 12,400 hectares (30,600 acres) in the valley, according to activists.

The Japan-aided dam "is destroying residents' lives, the environment and local culture. A murder is going on, slowly but surely," said local activist Berry Nahdian Forquan who heads the green group Walhi.

The dam reservoir flooded a forest, displacing fauna such as elephants, tigers and bears, said residents, who themselves were moved to a high plateau where they said water was scarce and making a living difficult.

"Our lives changed 180 degrees. It's bewildering. We used to eat what we grew but now we can't. We can't send our children to school," said villager Iswadi, who has only one name.

Japan's official development assistance is fifth in the world.

It spent roughly 7.6 billion dollars in the year ending March 2009, the most recent figure, although the number has been decreasing over the past few years.

Last year Japan pledged 220 million dollars in low-interest loans to the Southeast Asian country.

The recent case also highlights how Japan for decades did not have specific guidelines to check the impact on the environment and local populations before starting a project. The foreign ministry, which overseas official development assistance (ODA), only set them up in 2003.

"If Japan doesn't take responsibility over its actions and people's lives, then it should end its ODA because its responsibility is too great," said lawyer and retired Tokyo International University professor Kazuo Sumi.

Japan `does not care' about rights or environment
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post 12 Sep 09;

An environmentalist and former national commission member of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Efendi Simanjuntak, has expressed his regrets over the recent Japanese court ruling rejecting a class action lawsuit for environmental and material damages resulting from the Koto Panjang dam.

According to Efendi, the decision would have negative implications on the lives of people living around the Koto Panjang dam in West Sumatra.

Around 8,000 residents currently living around the dam, have been affected by the environmental damage it caused.

"Japan is one country that does not care about environmental issues or people's rights. As proof, their court rejected a lawsuit filed by people who were victimized by their project," Efendi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The lawsuit filed against the Japanese government contained a number of demands from Walhi and residents of 10 villages disadvantaged by the project, he said.

The demands included to restore the damaged surroundings and habitat of elephants and other rare animals, and to take responsibility for the suffering faced by residents whose villages were submerged, Efendi said.

The Koto Panjang dam project, funded using a Japanese soft loan amounting to 31 million yen, engulfed the Kampar Kanan and Batang Mahat rivers confluence area, spanning 124 square km, he said.

The dam, located in Riau and West Sumatra provinces, was built to generate 114 megawatts of electricity.

With the rejection of the lawsuit, the Japanese government had indicated it wished to protect all of its power investments in Indonesia, Effendi said.

"Japan owns many power generating investments in Indonesia, so if *the court ruled in favor of the community* it could have had a domino effect on other Japanese investments in Indonesia," he said.

He added that North Sumatra was also home to a number of power generating facilities financed by the Japanese government, including the PLTA Lau Renun power station in Dairi regency.

On Thursday, the Tokyo District Court rejected the villagers demands for damages after they were evicted from their homes without proper compensation to clear the way for the dam construction project financed by the Japanese government.

The 8,396 villagers sought US$54,250 per plaintiff, or a total of $42 billion in compensation, in the first-ever lawsuit to involve Japanese foreign aid.

The construction of the dam was carried out by Japanese companies, including the feasibility study by Tokyo Electric Power Service Co. (Tesco) in 1980.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the project was conducted in 1991, after 16,954 people were forcibly evicted from 10 villages in the area.

Thirty-one elephants were also relocated, 25 of which later died after failing to adapt to their new environment.

An 11th century Muaratakus Hindu temple was also submerged as a result of the dam.