>From peg!aldis Mon Aug 5 02:32:28 1991
MEDIA RELEASE
5 August 1991
MALAYSIAN TRIBAL BLOCKADES HOLD LOGGING COMPANY AT BAY --
CALLING FOR AUSTRALIAN SUPPORT
AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST IN MALAYSIAN GAOL
Five hundred and thirty two Penan tribes people from the Ulu Baram district
of Sarawak, Malaysia have successfully blockaded a logging road cutting
into their land, halting logging operations in the immediate area. At a
similar blockade in the Upper Limbang region, 30 Penan and Kelabit tribe
members were arrested on 26th July. The Ulu Baram blockade was established
on 21st June, as a part of a network of tribal blockades in Sarawak that
have been ongoing for over four years.
According to Juman Giong, headman of Long Lamei (a longhouse in the
affected area) who was interviewed at the blockade site (22 July 1991):
"The logging companies come to our land and the rivers become
dirty. The animals leave, and our forest is destroyed. We
have appealed to the Chief Minister of Sarawak several times
for help but we never get a reply. All we want and all we need
is our land.
"That is why we blockade and why we need to call on Australia
and other foreign countries to help us defend our lands."
One Australian witness described the blockade as, "Inspiring, yet
desperate. It's the Penan's last stand to defend their homeland and their
way of life."
The witness also reported that food supplies and funds for food have been
exhausted and the logging companies have blocked the road to shut off
incoming supply sources.
On 6th July, eight protesters from four nations chained themselves to a
crane loading an outgoing shipment of rainforest timber in Kuala Baram.
This protest was the first of its kind to be held by foreigners in Sarawak.
Six of the eight protesters, including Nancy Rolfe of Perth, have pleaded
guilty and are serving up to 70 days in Lambir Prison, Miri, Sarawak. Two
protesters, Anjie Zelter (UK) and Anja Light, an Australian resident from
the Gold Coast, pleaded not guilty and their trail, which began on 31st
July, continues.
In an interview in Miri on 31st July, Anja Light stated:
"Rainforest destruction is a global issue. We stress that it's
time for all nations to take responsibility for what is
happening to the rainforests around the world, and recognise
the importance of protecting the fragile ecosystems, biological
diversity, and the traditional land rights of the indigenous
people. We ask consumers to use alternative timbers, and for
governments to ban the importation of rainforest timbers."
Currently, Australia imports over 200,000 cubic metres of rainforest timber
per annum; eighty percent originates in Sarawak.
A bill to restrict the import of rainforest timbers into Australia has been
introduced by Democrat Senator John Coulter and comes up for a vote in
Parliament in mid-August. The bill requires that only rainforest timbers
that come from sustainable forestry practices, and are not from primary
forests, will be imported in Australia.
Contact: Kim Armstrong (066) 218 505
John Geoffrey (02) 519 4039
Paul Chatterton (02) 281 8099