For the past year, Global Response has supported the Penan indigenous people of Malaysia in their determination to stop industrial logging in their territories. Several Penan communities have set up rustic blockades against logging trucks, and now they are facing police violence. They urgently call on the international community to support their courageous stand against logging in some of Malaysia?s last remaining tropical rainforests. Too many Penan martyrs have already lost their lives defending their Native Customary Rights and their rainforest territories. Please help prevent more state violence against them.
MEDIA RELEASE, Bruno Manser Fonds, Basel / Switzerland 7 July 2006
Dramatic appeal by Penan headmen: "Ask the police not to use force against us"
Logging company dismantles Penan road blockade in Sarawak's rainforest - Police and Federal Reserve Unit brought into the Baram region to break a second blockade on coming Sunday
"Please support us and stay strongly behind us. Ask the police not to use force against us on our land. We, the Penan communities, will keep on the struggle for our forest for ever." With this dramatic appeal, the headmen of the Penan communites in the 4th and 5th Division of Sarawak / Malaysia jointly ask politicians, lawyers, NGOs, government officials, the media and the general public to support the struggle for their native customary rights lands and their last remaining forest reserves.
Logging workers of Interhill Logging Sdn. Bhd., a Malaysian timber company based in Miri, dismantled a Penan logging road blockade near Ba Abang in the Middle Baram region of Sarawak on 5 July 2006. Penan sources are reporting that an unknown number of policemen were brought to the area and that they were supported by the Federal Reserve Unit, a specially organized police unit trained to quell riots and disperse "unlawful assemblies". The police are searching the area for the Penan community members, who set up the blockade on 16 June and are currently hiding in the forest. However, no arrests have been made so far.
In a separate development, the Penan community of Long Benali is reporting that the Miri Resident (a local administrative officer in charge of the area) announced that another road blockade further up the Baram rivr would be dismantled on Sunday 9th July 2006. The blockade in question had been set up by the Penan in February 2004 to mark their community boundary and to prevent the bulldozers of the Miri-based logging giant Samling, to encroach further into their territory. According to the Penan, Samling intends to build a road up to the Kelabit community of Long Lellang to exploit one of the last remaining primary rainforest areas of Sarawak.
The announcement by the Miri Resident's office further discredits the Malaysian Timber Certification Council MTCC, who had recently certified Samling Plywood (Baramas) Sdn. Bhd for "sustainable" logging of the area in question. The certification of Samling had led to international protests because of a pending Penan landrights case against Samling, which had been disregarded by MTCC. Now Samling shows further disrespect for the Penan by breaking their blockade.
Bruno Manser Fonds, Association for the Peoples of the Rainforest, Basel / Switzerland
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