LONG NAPIR, Sarawak, Malaysia, July 3 (ENS) -- At least 40 Penan
tribespeople were arrested last week for blockading a bridge used
by logging trucks. Half of those arrested are still nomads whose
forest homes are being wiped out by logging. The Penan women tore
off their clothes and demanded to be arrested with their men,
saying, "You have taken everything from us, here, take us too."
Eyewitnesses said gangsters employed by logging companies
threatened to cut the blockading Penan with machetes and steal
their women.
The arrest warrant was served on behalf of Limbang Trading, a
logging company owned by James Wong, Malaysian Minister of
Forests, who owns some of the largest timber concessions in the
country. Those arrested were charged Tuesday in Limbang. Another
blockade nearby involving 300 protesters is still standing.
The Gaia Foundation of Western Australia is trying to mobilize
international solidarity amongst indigenous peoples for the Penan
and other Dyak peoples threatened by logging. Forty-seven
indigenous groups around the world have been contacted to enlist
their support. A leading aboriginal activist from Australia is
travelling to Sarawak to deliver statements of support from
Australian aborigines. The Penan, a tribe almost totally isolated
from other peoples, are encouraged to hear of support for their
cause around the world.
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**** Copyright (c) Environment News Service 1991 ****