Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Thousands of Lapindo Brantas mudflow victims from Sidoarjo, East Java, have planned to stage a massive rally in front of Merdeka Palace here on Tuesday to demand compensation for their houses which had been buried in the mud.

Hundreds of buses carrying the victims from Sidorarjo, started to arrive in Jakarta in the early morning of Tuesday and hundreds others would follow.

Those who have arrived in Jakarta earlier took a rest at Jakarta Istiqlal grand mosque, only a stone-throw from Merdeka Palace, before proceeding to the palace in the day.

Mardi, one of the victims who arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday morning, said they would demand the commitment of PT Lapindo Brantas and the government to paying the compensation for their houses which had engulfed in the mud.

"We are going to stay in Jakarta until our demand is met," Mardi said.

The Sidoarjo mud flow or Lapindo mudflow, is an eruption of gas and mud that has been ongoing since May 2006 in Porong subdistrict, Sidoarjo, and has buried thousands of houses, rice fields, and factories but the compensation promised by Lapindo had yet to be realized. (*)