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JAKARTA - Authorities have issued conflicting statements on whether the search for more than 100 people still missing after a flash flood in North Sumatra province will be continued. Officials on Tuesday (11/11/03) said a total of 140 bodies had been found since the flood swept through the resort town of Bahorok in Bukit Lawang district on the night of November 2, destroying more than 450 buildings.
At least 104 people, including three foreign tourists, remain missing and are presumed dead. Senior government officials and environmentalists have said the damage was greatly exacerbated by rampant illegal logging in the nearby Gunung Leuser National Park. Head of the provincial search and rescue office, Dianta Bangun, on Tuesday said the search for victims had been called off on Monday.
"All rescuers from Medan have been withdrawn from the location, based on the regulation which says that search and rescue operations in any catastrophe would last only seven days," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara. He said his office would only redeploy rescuers from the provincial capital if there is a request from the Langkat district administration.
Such a request reportedly came on Tuesday, when Langkat district administration official Karman said authorities have decided to continue the search indefinitely. "It has been decided by the heads of the district's administration, police and military to extend the search for victims in Bahorok until a yet undetermined time," he was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
Following statements by Vice President Hamzah Haz and Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim that deforestation helped cause the disaster, President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Monday ordered that further efforts be undertaken to combat “arrogant” environmental destruction and to apprehend illegal loggers. But Makarim, who last week denounced illegal loggers as “terrorists” and criticized their protectors in the police, military and government, is doubtful the perpetrators will ever be brought to justice.
Last Wednesday, he said that even if those responsible for the illegal logging are brought to trial, they could be acquitted because of deals made "behind the screen" – a reference to the rampant corruption within the nation’s courts. "We all understand the real quality of our courts. If we have provided all kinds of evidence to the court, it is no guarantee we will win," he said.
Natural Disaster?
Forestry Minister Muhammad Prakosa on Monday reportedly blamed the Bukit Lawang disaster solely on incessant rainfall. "It was not because of illegal logging. It was a genuine natural disaster," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. "We have sent an investigation team there and the result was there was a landslide from a steep hill smashing the many natural dams along the slope that were previously covered by wood, prompting a water rush," he added.
Commenting on the hundreds of logs that were swept down by the flood and smashed apart buildings as people slept, he claimed they were “uprooted trees”. Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Yusuf Kalla concurred that the flood was caused by "the natural phenomenon" of a landslide, but said it was worsened by illegal logging. Kalla also said Megawati would on November 20 hold a meeting with leaders of about 100 districts - from Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java – prone to floods and landslides during the rainy season.
He said they would discuss a range of issues, including contingency plans to evacuate people living by riverbanks.
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