European Parliament Resolution on Yamdena Island
The following resolution was adopted by the European Parliament on 26
February 1997
11(e) B4-0065 and 0130/97
Resolution on the violation of indigenous rights and on the depletion of the
tropical forests on Yamdena Island, Indonesia
The European Parliament
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A. having regard to its previous resolutions on indigenous peoples,
aware of the Indonesia Government's licensing for logging operations to PT
Inhutani and PT Mohtra Agung on Yamdena Island in the Moluccan archipelago,
B. aware that these licenses allow these companies to log a total of
164,000ha of pristine tropical rainforest, which could lead to the complete
erosion of the island,
C. concerned that these concessions are in violation of the 1971 Decree of
the Director-General of Forests which stipulates that Yamdena is a
conservation and a protected area,
D. noting that the indigenous peoples of Yamdena consider the whole island
as part of their traditional collective land, which they need for their
economic, physical and cultural survival,
E. noting the lack of real grassroots participation in the
government-sponsored consultations on logging in Yamdena,
1. Welcomes the concerns of the Indonesian Govrnment to stop all illegal
logging in Yamdena and the rest of the Moluccan archipelago;
2. Calls on the Indonesian Government to withdraw the proposed concessions;
3. Requests the Indonesian Government to start a real dialogue with the
indigenous peoples of Yamdena, with the aim of finding socially acceptable
proposals for the sustainable development of Yamdena and the whole of the
Moluccan archipelago;
4. Considers the recognition of the traditional land rights of the peoples
of Yamdena to be a prerequisite of any such development, and therefore urges
the Indonesian Government to set up a process for the titling of the land;
5. Requests the Commission to suport grassroots programmes for the further
development of the indigenous peoples of the Moluccan archipelago;
6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the
Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Government of
Indonesia, and the Tanimbar Intellectuals' Association.
Carolyn Marr (dte@gn.apc.org)