Greenpeace activists scaled the PT Medco Energi Internasional headquarters, to hang a 30-meter long banner proclaiming "Medco Hands off Nuclear" in central Jakarta.
The fatwa
A fatwa is a
religious ruling based on Islamic law. Before issuing thefatwa
against the nuclear plant, the group of scholars and clericsheard
all sides of the argument. They consulted scientists,
energyindustry experts, community leaders, environmental activists
and theQuran.
After long deliberation they issued their finding:
Nuclear power is haraam. The negative
impacts far outweigh the benefits.
Nuclear power is dangerous because of its radioactivity. Nuclear
poweris dangerous because there is no known way to properly deal
withnuclear waste.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority
nation.
The nuclear plant
Indonesia is fast-tracking plans to build its first nuclear
reactor inJepara, on the island of Java, where an earthquake killed
more than2,735 people in May 2006, and where the Mount Merapi
volcano isthreatening to erupt.
"Nuclear energy is an inherently dangerous option for our
country. Let's not forget that Indonesia is located in the main
volcanic chainof the planet, known as 'Pacific ring of fire' and at
the joints oftectonic plates, which makes it vulnerable to
earthquakes"said Energy campaigner Nur Hidayati of Greenpeace. "It
is a moral andethical obligation for the Indonesian government not
to put the livesof millions of Indonesian citizens and future
generations at risk, especially not forthe short sighted interests
of a handful elites."
The company behind the plan, PT Medco Energi Internasional, is
askingfor US$3 billion to build a 2000 MW nuclear power plant
by2016. But both the timeline and the (already large) price tag
areunrealistic. Hardly any of the currently 435 commercial
nuclearreactors in operation world-wide have been built within the
plannedtime frames or budgets.
"Why is Medco pushing hazardous nuclear and dirty coal, which
arenothing but obstacles for solutions to climate change and
energysecurity?" said Hidayati. "Why is Medco overlooking the
abundance ofproven and safe alternatives for producing electricity
from renewablesources including geothermal, solar, micro-hydro,
wind and biomass?"
What we're doing
We're working with locals in the area where the reactor is
proposed aswell as with Indonesian civil society groups, plus
holding our ownprotests.
Yesterday, eight activists went into the Medco building. Two of
themabsailed from the roof to hang a 30-metre banner reading,
"Medco, HandsOff Nuclear". All eight were detained by building
security, but laterreleased.
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