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Forests & forest fires

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.

Ladia Galaska road network: construction continues, controversy rages

Down to Earth No 62  August 2004

NGOs have stepped up their campaign to halt construction of the Ladia Galaska road project which cuts through the Leuser Ecosystem in Aceh - one of world's richest areas of tropical rainforest.

Floods hit four districts in Aceh on May 7-8, in the western area downstream of the Ladia Galaska road project, leaving one person dead, sweeping away four houses and forcing thousands to leave their flooded homes.

Forest fires

Down to Earth No 62  August 2004

The burning season started early in Sumatra this year, but Jakarta has been too preoccupied with the elections to take action on forest fires.

Thick smoke blanketed parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan for several days during June and July, resulting in the now familiar symptoms of delayed flights and the authorities handing out face masks.

Indigenous activist arrested

Down to Earth No 61  May 2004

Bestari Raden, a well-known environmentalist and indigenous activist, was arrested by the military in Aceh in March, while on a government mission to review the controversial Ladia Galaska road scheme.

Military personnel from the 0108 Southeast Aceh District Command (Kodim) arrested Bestari Raden on March 23rd. After being held at the military command in Kutacane, where he was interrogated by the command's intelligence chief, Bestari was handed over to the Southeast Aceh police at Tapak Tuan.

Forests in transition

Down to Earth No 61 May 2004

A recent visit by DTE staff to South Sumatra illustrates the realities of Indonesia's deforestation and the tensions between local communities and the authorities over the use of 'forest lands' in a rapidly changing environment

"Why are you going to South Sumatra to find out about sustainable forest use? There is no forest there!", said people in Jakarta. Even in the provincial capital, Palembang, staff at the South Sumatra branch of the environmental NGO WALHI were gloomy.

In Brief... DTE 61 - May 2004

Military will continue to guard 'vital projects'

Indonesian military personnel will continue to maintain a 'third ring' of security around large oil, gas and mining installations during a transition period before the police take over. Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said the government would issue a decree setting out a 3-layer security system, consisting of internal security guards, local residents and military and police personnel.

Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

Down to Earth No 60  February 2004

By Novi Siti Julaeha*

"When people are deprived of their rights, then it is natural to resist. And when injustice is purported to become law, then resistance is justified and it becomes their duty"(1)

Indonesia has a population of 201,241,999 people according to the 2000 census. The fourth largest country in the world after China, India, and the US, Indonesia is also a multi-ethnic society with 1,072 ethnic and sub ethnic groups(2).