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

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DTE publications

Indigenous communities speak out on Tangguh

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

Statement by the people of Soway, Wayuri & Simuna as the landowners of the site where the Tangguh natural gas project is being developed.

 

To the Indonesian Oil & Gas Management Body - BPMigas

We have reviewed the process and documents relating to the loss of traditional rights of the Simuna, Soway, Wayuri people in connection with the Tangguh natural gas project under development by Pertamina and BP, facilitated by the Manokwari local government in 1999.

International concern: a letter to BP

Down to Earth No 65  May 2005

The following letter, slightly abridged here, was addressed to Lord John Browne, CEO of BP, and is dated December 8th 2004.

As individuals and organisations in West Papua and internationally who are closely following the Tangguh LNG Project in West Papua, we are writing to express our mounting concerns and to call for your immediate intervention…

…Our concerns are centred on:

  • inadequate progress on key human rights commitments
  • a worrying lack of transparency
  • a fai

Community-centred reconstruction needed

Down to Earth No 64  March 2005

For many tsunami survivors whose homes and livelihoods were totally swept away in the early hours of December 26th, rebuilding their lives means starting from scratch. What lies ahead for these shattered communities and who will decide what happens next?

Acehnese civil society organisations are highlighting the overriding need for participation by the affected communities in the reconstruction and recovery processes and for transparency and accountability in the use of funds.

Give the people of Aceh the right to rebuild their territory themselves

Down to Earth No 64  March 2005

Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) Press Statement

All that's left for the survivors now is the thin thread of life and a stack of questions and fears.

The government has a three-stage plan to tackle the disaster in Aceh and North Sumatra. The emergency stage programme will be the priority until December 2005, when aid will be directed towards clothing, food and health. The emergency funding amounts to Rp1.35 trillion.

Pak Keuchik Jailani

Down to Earth No 64  2005

The well-known indigenous and environmental activist, Keuchik Jailani, was one of the victims of the quake-tsunami in Aceh. He did not come from a privileged background and had little formal education. He always described himself as an ordinary farmer. But Pak Keuchik - as he was always known - was not an ordinary man. He was a community leader who was chosen to be village head of Riseh Sawang and customary leader because he was an honest, hard-working, principled man who was a skilled negotiator and not afraid to speak out.

Resources: women and environment

Down to Earth No 63  November 2004

International

Bestari Raden sentenced

Down to Earth No 63  November 2004


Bestari Raden, indigenous activist and environmental campaigner, has been sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment. The verdict, handed down in October, found Bestari not guilty of part of the main charge of 'rebellion', but guilty of threatening state security and incitement.

Bestari Raden was arrested by military personnel from Southeast Aceh district command in March 2004.