The activists apprehended by the local police were from
Greenpeace and from communities who have been campaigning against
the expansion of coal power plants across Asia - from China, India,
Thailand and the Philippines. They went to Cirebon to share with
local communities their experiences of living with the deadly
impacts of coal mining and coal-fired power plants, and to learn
lessons from each other about how to campaign for clean and
renewable energy solutions. The activists were apprehended by
police authorities while they were attending a press conference
organized by local groups to launch a regional manifesto against
the expansion of coal power plants in Asia.
Among the 12 activists were three Filipinos: Amalie Obusan,
climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia; Albert
Lozada, Solar Generation-Pilipinas coordinator of Greenpeace
Southeast Asia; and Jean Marie Ferraris, team leader of the LRC-KsK
Davao Regional Office.
"We condemn in the strongest terms this latest harassment by the
Indonesian police and immigration authorities on peaceful
activists, as well as on communities who are opposing coal because
of its impacts on the local environment, the health of host
communities, and on the global climate," said Von Hernandez,
Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. "It is lamentable
that campaigning to uphold environmental justice through
non-violent means has now become an offense worthy of heavy-handed
tactics on the part of Indonesian authorities."
Two months ago, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that
he welcomed working in partnership with NGO's, including
Greenpeace, especially to address deforestation and ecosystem
damage in the country. "However, the actions of police and
immigration authorities that wilfully violate the human rights of
local and international activists, especially without basis,
reflects badly on the country's reputation as a genuine and robust
democracy and can only fuel concerns that the law is being abused
to
serve the interests of those who are profiting from the
destruction of the environment," Hernandez added.
Judy Pasimio, Executive Director of LRC-KsK, said that the
anti-coal community will be urging the Indonesian administration to
condemn this most recent act by the local police and Immigration
authorities. "The Indonesian government needs to condemn this very
hostile act against legitimate, peaceful meeting of coal
campaigners and human rights defenders. We challenge President
Yudhoyono to expose the implicit connivance of police and coal
companies out to protect their own, selfish interests. This
unfortunate incident will not silence us, nor the communities we
work with. In fact, this has strengthened our stand against
corporations willing to use force against the people for their own
profit," Pasimio stated.
Congressman Walden Bello, Akbayan Representative, who had made
calls to the Indonesian Embassy in the Philippines and the
Philippine Embassy in Indonesia for the immediate release of the
Filipino nationals, echoed the sentiments of the environmental
groups. "Illegal arrests of environmental activists are becoming a
trademark of the supposedly liberal government of Indonesia. We ask
President Yudhoyono to order the security forces to stop their
harassment of activists and to give safe passage and clearance to
these activists who were unjustly detained," Bello said.