SAHABAT ALAM MALAYSIA [SAM]
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, MALAYSIA
21, Lintang Delima 15, 11600 Penang, Malaysia
Tel : (6) 04 - 6596930 Fax : (6) 04 - 6596931
PRESS STATEMENT AUG 27, 2007
SAM would like to call the attention of the Malaysian Government, both at the Federal and Sarawak level on the latest developments surrounding the two blockades set up by the Sarawak native communities in the middle and upper Baram, Miri Division.
It is important to note that such blockades have indeed been a regular feature in the communities' struggle to protect their ancestral domains. All the communities involved have built such barricades within their traditional territories numerous times over the last two decades, in spite of hostile reactions from timber companies and the authorities.
The Penan communities have been appealing to the authorities to recognize their claims to their native customary lands and have demanded that they have to be protected. Consequently, they appeal for all logging activities to cease.
The people's persistence at a time when the logging industry is already faced with the reality of the depletion in timber resources and is fast turning into oil palm and pulp and paper ventures only goes to show that the Sarawak and Federal Governments must not continue to ignore the many grievances surrounding Native Customary Rights issues in Sarawak and the way logging operations are conducted in Sarawak.
We therefore would like to reiterate that until the rights of the people are recognised in their entirety and active steps are taken to secure these rights via the gazetting of the people's traditional territories into Communal Forests as provided for by the Sarawak Forests Ordinance, the Sarawak native communities are unlikely to end their protests anytime soon.
Apoh region, Middle Baram
A blockade was re-erected on June 2 by some fifty villagers from Long Belok and Long Sayan to prevent Rimbunan Hijau from entering and extracting timbers within the people's communal forest reserves in the upper reaches of the Belok River. The police is said to have visited the blockade site both in mid-June and early July but to date have not taken any actions against the protesters.
Representatives of the Penan communities in Apoh and Tutoh have expressed their grave concern to SAM that their rights will continue to be disrespected and called the authorities to look into their complaints seriously.
It is reported that around ten people are taking turn to guard the blockade site each day in order to sustain food supply for the blockaders as well as to ensure that hunting, fishing and farming activities for all the families involved will go on uninterrupted.
Another new blockade has been erected by Penans in Long Nen, Sungai Layun together with Penan Nomadic from Sungai Marong, upper Tutoh. The blockade was erected on 1st August, 2007 to restrain trespassers of Jambu Green Sdn Bhd, sub-contractor to Samling Logging Sdn. Bhd. from entering onto their respective communal forest reserve areas in Ulu Sungai Layun and Sungai Marong.
According to the group leader of the nomadic Penans, Raja Jemali, from Sungai Marong, the community decided to join the group in Long Nen because they cannot withstand the company?s pressures on their own in in Sungai Marong.
Upper Baram
Meanwhile, the protest against the controversial road-building by another logging company, Samling, in upper Baram is reportedly still holding on.
Blockades by the Penan communities in the upper reaches of the Baram have been set up at different sites in the area for the last 14 years. This area is regarded to be one of the last remaining primary forests in Sarawak and the last frontier to be exploited by the logging companies which commenced their operations from the coast since the 1960s. The upper Baram blockades, often associated with the Long Benalih villagers, had in fact been dismantled by the authorities on numerous occasions after which the communities would resume rebuilding them.
We learnt that on July 4, the barricades were once again destroyed by the authorities. However on July 13, a new blockade was already set up in a show of inter-community solidarity by villagers from Long Benalih and their neighbours Long Pengaran Iman, Long Pengaran Kerian, Long Kepang and Ba' Lai.
The continuous dismantling and rebuilding of the blockades have received much attention in recent years, particularly after the concession's inclusion into the controversial Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) scheme, whose legal and sustainable claims have been questioned by national and international civil society groups.
In the past, the Long Benalih village often had to bear the brunt of being insinuated as the sole village protesting against timber activities in the area, at the expense of other villages.
The blockaders have been accused of causing shortages in food, gas and other essential supplies to villages like Long Lellang, when in fact there are other access roads from such villages to as far as Miri, which have fallen in a state of disrepair after companies which maintained them ceased operations in their allocated zones. The ?community welfare? argument used to justify the road building is indeed ironic when existing routes are left without any further maintenance after companies cease their operations in a given concession and move to new locations.
With the joint action of several villagers to rebuild what must be the longest serving non-violent protest in Malaysian history, the collective community opposition against the logging encroachment into their traditional territories is clear for all to see.
Unfortunately the road construction today is getting deeper inland and is now only about 2 km away from Benalih. However its adverse environmental impacts, in particular water pollution, are currently being impacted upon other neighbouring Penan villages as well, including Long Pengaran Iman and Long Pengaran Kerian.
It was reported the on-going road construction is guarded by the General Forces Team (Pasukan Gerak Am) from Miri. The team was said to have built their temporary camp not far from the current blockade site.
Then in mid-July, the Benalih Blockade was reportedly dismantled again by timber company workers, together with the General Forces Team. The people were warned that they would be arrested if they continue with the blockade.
In view of the above, SAM once again calls on the Federal and State Government to respect the rights of the Penans and ensure that the timber companies cease operations in their native territories.
S.M.Mohamed Idris
President
