WORLD-FAMOUS RAINFOREST CAMPAIGNER ARRESTED AFTER G7 LAMP POST CLIMB
Bruno Manser, Swiss champion for the rights of indigenous people in
Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) was arrested at about 1.40pm on Wednesday
17th July after spending two and a half hours chained to the top of a
30 foot high lamp post outside the G7 media centre in London. The
activist climbed the lamp post unaided from pavement height. He then
unrolled a banner drawing attention to the plight of the Sarawak
rainforests and the indigenous people whose lives depend on them.
Sarawak's forests will be totally logged out within 6 years, resulting
in mass extinction and the destruction of local people's livelihoods.
The G7 summit is regarded as the last chance to draw world leaders'
attention to the situation before it is too late. Bruno Manser's
demonstration coincided with a peaceful protest outside the same
building by activists from Earth First! and London Rainforest Action
Group. Simultaneously, inside the building, there was a third protest
during a press conference given by Prime Minister John Major. George
Marshall of London Rainforest Action Group unrolled a banner reading
"G7 Plunders Sarawak Rainforest". He apologised to the Prime Minister
for interrupting the press conference, but explained that there is
very little time left for Sarawak, and that the G7 nations (who import
the vast majority of Sarawak timber) must address the issue. He said
"One hundred million years of evolution are being squandered for cheap
plywood for the G7 nations" before being thrown out of the building.
Bruno Manser's protest ended when police used a hoist to reach the top
of the lamp post. Chains securing him to the lamp were then cut and
the activist came down without force. He was then taken to Bow Street
police station, where he was held until the end of the G7 summit
(6.30pm on the same day) and then released without charge.
Immediately after his release, Bruno Manser spoke at the TOES rally in
the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. He will speak there again
at a public meeting at 7.30 on Friday 19th July.
PRESS RESOURCES AVAILABLE:
Broadcast quality video footage of the tribal blockades of logging
roads in Sarawak is avaiable, with 18 seconds permitted use.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Phone:
Earth First! / London Rainforest Action Group, 081-806-1561.
or:
SIMBA, 071-328-3452.
- ENDS -
[ If anyone ever gets the chance to see the beautiful video "Blowpipes
and Bulldozers," which describes the plight of the Penan people of
Sarawak, you must do so. It shows the work Bruno Manser did among
these people, documenting their way of life and sketching what he
found. He was pursued by authorities several times, and, during his
most recent time there, just barely escaped with his life. --Gary ]