AS 2007 drew to a close, the white flag flying over the East Java Regional Police Headquarters was all but visible. The Regional Police Chief, Insp. Gen. Herman Surjadi Sumawiredja, said he had “given up” on the Lapindo case, which his office had handled for two and a half years.

The decision by the police to “park” the case that the National Human Rights Commission has branded a human rights violation was announced by Herman himself to