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Human rights

ExxonMobil plays "terrorist" card in Aceh case

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002


The world's biggest oil company is fighting a human rights lawsuit by claiming that the case will upset US relations with Indonesia.

Exxon described Indonesia as "a place where al-Quaeda-trained fighters are residing" at an April hearing of International Labor Rights Fund's lawsuit against the company.

Sumatra rayon mill to move to China, pulp mill to reopen

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002


The Indorayon pulp mill - one of Indonesia's most notorious polluters - was shut down in 1998 following years of protests from the local communities suffering the impacts. The company was renamed PT Toba Pulp Lestari and recently won government approval for reopening its pulp mill in Porsea, North Sumatra.

Riau: a customary leader's fight to save the forest

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002


The following is translated from 'Patih 'Pak Garang' Laman', an article by Edi Petebang, Kalimantan Review no. 55/March 2000

Patih Laman is a traditional leader of a Talang Mamak community - an indigenous people who live in the forests of Riau and Jambi, Sumatra. Some, but not all of the Talang Mamak's customary forests lie within Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park. The Talang Mamak follow a traditional way of life, practising rotational use of the forests.

In Brief... DTE 53-54 - August 2002

Down to Earth No 53-54  August 2002

Kotopanjang dam victims to get compensation?

Over four thousand families forced to resettle on barren land due to a Japan-funded dam have become "developmental refugees" according to a Japanese newspaper report. The Kotopanjang dam in Riau, Sumatra was built on protected forest and the adat (customary) land of local communities in 1997 at a cost of 36.4 billion Yen, almost all of which was a Japanese government loan.

STATEMENT BY UK NGOs ON THE FORESTRY MoU BETWEEN THE INDONESIAN AND UK GOVERNMENTS

We, as UK NGOs working on forest issues, share the concerns of Indonesian civil society organisations about the rapid rates of deforestation in Indonesia and the consequent loss of sustainable livelihoods.

Stop human rights violations against peasant farmers!

Down to Earth No. 52, February 2002


The pattern of human rights violations arising from land conflicts during the Suharto era still persists today, more than three years since the dictator was forced to resign.

The high incidence of land conflicts and the persistent pattern of violence against peasants and activists defending peasants' rights shows that there has been little change in the way the government handles land conflicts since the Suharto days.

Banten farmers arrested and beaten

Down to Earth No 52 February 2002

Forty seven farmers were rounded up by armed police, Brimob, forestry company staff and hired thugs in a November pre-dawn raid on Cibaliung village, Banten province, Java. Some were handcuffed and beaten during the forcible eviction from land now claimed by privatised forestry company, PT Perhutani. The farmers were denied access to lawyers. The evictions went ahead even though the Cibaliung farmers have documented proof of ownership of the land and pay taxes on it.