Newsletter articles

DTE's quarterly newsletter provides information on ecological justice in Indonesia.

To get on the mailing list for e-updates with links to the latest articles or PDF file of the full newsletter, click in the green box on the homepage.

The Bahasa Indonesia list offers links to selected articles from each newsletter issue.

To get on our mailing list for hard copies (£10 a year, English newsletter only) send a request to dte@gn.apc.org.

DTE publications

Mass protests challenge Inco

Down to Earth No 67 November 2005

This article, contributed by YL Franky of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), highlights ongoing protests against Inco, the Canadian-owned nickel mine at Sorowako, South Sulawesi.

Indigenous people affected by Inco's mining in Sorowako*, mineworkers, students and NGOs who have formed the Mine Victims' Solidarity Forum (FSMT), mounted a four-day occupation of the company's regional office in Makassar, South Sulawesi, from September 15 - 19th.

On 12 September, the FSMT

In Brief... DTE 67 - November 2005

Down to Earth No 67 November 2005

Police open fire on farmers in Lombok

Indonesian human rights NGO Elsam has protested against the police shooting of farmers attending a national meeting in Lombok. Twenty seven people suffered gunshot injuries on September 18th when police dispersed a farmers' union general assembly organised by the Nusa Tenggara Barat union and the Federation of Indonesian Farmers Unions (FSPI). Eight people were detained at the meeting, which was attended by farmers' representatives from 26 countries.

The RSPO - towards "sustainable palm oil"?

Down to Earth No 66 August 2005

Interview with Marcus Colchester

Marcus Colchester is Director of the international NGO, Forest Peoples Programme, and a member of DTE's management committee. He has participated with Indonesian NGO, Sawit Watch, in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as a member of its Criteria Working Group.

Timber demand soars, fatal floods hit

Down to Earth No 66 August 2005

Flash floods hit southeastern Aceh in late April, killing at least nineteen people and injuring dozens more. The disaster can be linked to the huge demand for reconstruction timber in post-tsunami Aceh.

The floods brought rocks, logs and water crashing down hillsides, completely destroying people's homes late on April 26th, when most villagers were asleep. The villages of Lawe Gerger, Lawe Mengkudu, and Lawe Lak-Lak in Southeast Aceh district, were worst hit.

AMAN presents concerns to UN Permanent Forum

Down to Earth No 66 August 2005

Indigenous peoples are calling for land security to be included in the post-tsunami rehabilitation programme, and for the involvement of indigenous peoples, including women.

Presenting a statement to the May session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN in New York, the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) and the Acehnese indigenous network JKMA, repo

New land regulation will inflict misery

Down to Earth No 66 August 2005

Protests have greeted a new regulation on land issued by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in May.

The new Presidential Regulation on Land Procurement for Public Development, (Perpres No 36/2005) permits the compulsory acquisition of land for the public good. It lists some 21 types of public development, including toll roads and telephone networks.

Farmers arrested in Perhutani land dispute, East Java

Down to Earth No 66 August 2005

The following is the translation of an urgent action appeal from the Indonesian human rights NGO ELSAM. It is another case in which the state forestry company, Perhutani, is associated with brutality against farmers. Previous cases have been well-documented - see for example KaKKaPP letter, DTE 60.

On the morning of 7th April, 7 villagers from Krenceng (East Java) were detained by police from Kediri.