Naomi Lyandra, Jakarta – Three weeks after the hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, the Civil Society Coalition believes the government's response has been suboptimal because it has failed to declare a national disaster.
As a result, the Coalition sent a subpoena to President Prabowo Subianto on December 10. The coalition of 113 civil society organisations demanded that the government declare the flash floods and landslides that hit Sumatra a national disaster.
The subpoena reinforces a citizen lawsuit filed against 12 state officials that was previously filed by several West Sumatra residents. They accuse the government of negligence in preventing and addressing ecological disasters, which they believe are linked to forest destruction, land clearing and poor environmental management.
One of the Coalition's representatives, Aulianda Wafisa, the director of the Banda Aceh Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), emphasised that the situation in Aceh has met the requirements for declaring a national disaster since late November.
"We see that the scale of the damage caused by this disaster is beyond the provinces' capacity to handle. So, on the 29th, we actually presented, and we issued a statement at that time to urging the central government to declare the flood and landslide disaster in Sumatra a national emergency", said Wafisa in a KBR Public Space broadcast on Friday December 12.
Regions widely affected, limited financial capacity
Wafisa stated that 18 of the 23 regencies and cities in Aceh have been affected, but Aceh's fiscal capacity was at its lowest point at the end of the year. "It's also the end of the year, and the emergency situation cannot be controlled with conventional methods", he explained.
According to Wafisa, declaring a national disaster will open full access to the central government's operational mechanisms. "This includes the deployment of air transportation, logistics, and evacuation fleets", he explained.
Situation on the ground remains critical
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Aceh Hydrometeorological Disaster Emergency Response Command Post, Murthalamuddin, described the situation on the ground as still being very critical.
"After 15 days, there are still residents who haven't received any aid at all. Hasn't the central government felt compelled to see this as an extraordinary situation?", Murthalamuddin said during the KBR Public Space broadcast on Friday.
He also highlighted the lack of logistical access, limited aid flights and slow infrastructure response. "After the President's two visits until today, the number of air drop flights remains the same, between 15, 16, 19 and 20 flights per day. So what's the central government doing?", he explained.
Murtalamuddin also questioned the president's aides, who seemed to have never read [instructions] as concrete orders to be implemented in the affected areas. "The PLN [state electricity company], even a week after Pak [Mr] Bahlil's [Lahadalia] (the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources) promise [the electricity] still isn't on", he said.
Concerns about health, psychological and social impacts
Murthalamuddin warned of the psychological and social impacts if this situation continues for the victims of the disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
"Don't let this disaster create new wounds, new resentments, that in fact we're not needed, we're not considered, we're ignored", he asserted.
Furthermore, Wafisa believes that the government's promises have not been implemented into concrete actions.
"The President said he would provide 63 trillion rupiah. Maybe that's for reconstruction, okay. But what we need now is an emergency response. People can survive the floods, but they can't necessarily survive the diseases and illnesses suffered from the floods. Logistics are piling up, and citizens are helping citizens", he explained.
Subpoena demands state accountability, opportunity for lawsuits
Wafisa explained that the subpoena aims to demand that the state take responsibility for declaring a national disaster, and for the recovery and reconstruction of forest and land management after the disaster.
"This disaster and landslides are truly rain from God, but the floods are human-made. The floods are not from God. The floods and landslides are not from God. They are the result of human activity. Who are these humans? The ones who issue forestry permits, palm oil permits, clear land, mining", Wafisa asserted.
He also explained that if the subpoena is ignored, a lawsuit will be filed with the State Administrative Court (PTUN) or the Jakarta District Court (PN).
"Who is actually responsible in this sequence [of events]? We want the court to order the state to take action in response to the floods and landslides. Because we are a constitutional country", he said.
Government working hard even without Moses' staff
Prabowo has emphasised that the government is working hard to address the impact of the disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, even though it does not possess the supernatural powers of Moses' staff to overcome calamity.
"I apologise that the President of the Republic of Indonesia does not have the staff of the Prophet Moses, but we will work hard to help all of you", said Prabowo while personally inspecting the disaster-affected areas in Bener Meriah, Aceh, on Friday December 12, as quoted by the state news agency Antara.
During his visit, Prabowo visited the refugee coordination post at the Aceh Tamiang Bridge. The head of state interacted directly with residents at the Wih Pesam 2 Junior High School (SMP) coordination post in Bener Meriah.
Prabowo explained that the government has deployed dozens of helicopters and planes to expedite the disaster response and that it will immediately prepare replacement houses for residents affected by flash floods and landslides.
"We have deployed dozens of helicopters and planes. We have also prepared a plan to replace all the houses", he said.
Despite this, Prabowo asked the public to be patient because the recovery process takes time. Prabowo gave assurances that all parties are working hard to restore conditions after the disaster.
Legal basis for declaring national disaster
Quoting from Antara, the legal basis for declaring a national disaster is expressly stipulated under Law Number 24/2007 on Disaster Management.
Article 7 paragraph (2) of the law cites five main indicators: the number of victims, property losses, damage to infrastructure and facilities, the scope of the affected area and socio-economic impacts. This law does not require a specific number of victims, but rather emphasises whether regional capacity has been exceeded.
Number of victims continues to rise
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has reported deaths from the disaster in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. As of Sunday (December 14), approximately 1,000 people were reported to have died from the disaster in these three provinces. In addition to this, more than 200 people are still missing.
The total affected areas are 52 regencies and cities in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. In addition, 157,000 houses, 498 bridges, 1,200 public facilities 584 schools have been damaged by the disaster.
National disaster status doesn't need debate
Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi meanwhile has emphasised that the government is currently prioritising disaster management in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra, rather than debating national disaster status.
According to Hadi, all national resources have been mobilised to expedite the response process in the three provinces. The government, along with local governments, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police (Polri) and all other relevant elements, are working hard to ensure the needs of disaster victims are met.
"All national resources are working hard to carry out the response", he concluded.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Ketika Presiden Prabowo Disomasi Soal Status Bencana Sumatra".]
Source: https://kbr.id/articles/ragam/ketika-presiden-prabowo-disomasi-soal-status-bencana-sumatra
