Farmers Victims Of Timor Sea Pollution Write To The Rote Ndao Regional Government About Compensation

NTT - Sadli H Ardani, a seaweed farmer from Papela village, Rote Ndao Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province who was also a victim of Timor Sea pollution due to the explosion of the Montara Oil refinery in 2009, sent an open letter to the local Rote Ndao Regional Government regarding misappropriation of compensation funds.

"Through this opportunity, I just gave input related to the distribution and compensation of Montara, which according to farmers in several villages is considered unfair, especially Daiama Village, Tenalai Village and Pukuafu Village," he said in a letter sent to the Regent Rote Ndao, received by Antara in Kupang, Monday, May 20.

He said the three villages were the villages where samples of Timor's sea pollution were first taken when oil spread to almost all of NTT waters.

When the village was judged as a pure village, it had seaweed farmers and victims of pollution. But unfortunately, in the process of distributing compensation funds, it was only given at a price of Rp. 11,300 per kilogram, while other villages with minimal seaweed farmers such as Tesabela village were given a price of Rp. 37 thousand per kilogram and Matasio village Rp. 33 thousand per kilogram.

Likewise, other villages for compensation compensation for compensation are valued at IDR 43 thousand per kilogram.

"Even though the class action lawsuit which was later won was carried out jointly, it means that they are members of a package of lawsuits consisting of two districts, 81 villages with 15,483 farmers," he said.

With a compensation value of 192.5 million Australian dollars or equivalent to Rp2.02 trillion.

He added that in Australia's federal court decision it was stated that there had been a distribution of each of which harbour litigation donors got 30 of the compensation funds, Maurice Blackburn's attorney's office got 17 percent and 15. 483 farmers got 53 percent or estimated at IDR 1.70 trillion.

"In our opinion, if lawyers are fair, then they must add up all production results from 15,483 farmers and how many hundreds of kilograms," he added.

So that the financial rights of all farmers amounting to approximately Rp1.70 trillion are divided into the total production of 15,483 farmers, so how much will the price per kilogram be.

Previously, the distribution of compensation funds for 15,483 seaweed farmers in NTT had been distributed to farmers, but the amount given was not in accordance with the decision of the Australian Federal Court.

So that a number of seaweed farmers in Kupang Regency and Rote Ndao Regency reported misappropriation of compensation funds to the NTT Police allegedly carried out by the attorney's office of Maurice Blackburn, based in Sydney, Australia.

The West Timor Peduli Foundation, which from the beginning handled the case, urged the police to examine 81 villages suspected of being involved in the distribution of the compensation funds.

"We have also reported this to the New South Wales (NSW) Legal Services Commissioner," he said.