International concern about palm oil expansion in Indonesia

Berlin, 16 February 2009

Press Release by Watch Indonesia! and Rettet den Regenwald e.V.

 

10.000 EU-citizens demand the release of environmental defender M. Rusdi in Jambi, Sumatra

 

Muhammad Rusdi

More than 10.000 EU-citizens demand the release of M. Rusdi, head of Karang Mendapo village, who was detained on 28 January 2009. They signed a petition brought forward by Rettet den Regenwald and Watch Indonesia!. Representatives of these environmental and human rights groups handed over the petition to the Indonesian embassy in Germany today. A similar action took place in London on Friday, 13 September. Mr. Rusdi’s apparently unlawful arrest is viewed as an attempt to silence the farmers of Karang Mendapo. Rusdi has been at the forefront of local protest against the abusive land-grabbing practices of palm oil-company PT Kresna Dua Agroindo (KDA), a subsidiary of Sinar Mas Group. “In Germany, Europe and all over the world, more and more people are aware of the environmental destruction and human rights abuses caused by the expansion of the palm oil industry in Indonesia, of which Rusdi’s case is just one example”, says Klaus Schenck of Rettet den Regenwald. “They feel especially responsible to act on this because of the role Germany and the EU play as importers of palm oil.” In Berlin, the Indonesian embassy accepted the petition and promised to forward it to the foreign ministry in Jakarta. In London, the petition could only be handed over after a discussion with embassy staff who had called the police. “We are deeply worried that Rusdi is being criminalized to instill fear among critics of the palm oil industry’s doubtful practices all over Indonesia. We urge the Indonesian authorities to ensure Rusdi’s release,” says Fabian Junge of Watch Indonesia!. “Further, the circumstances of his arrest should be investigated and prosecuted if necessary.”

For further information, please contact:

Marianne Klute, Watch Indonesia!, Tel.: 030-698 179 38, Mobil: 0176-245 265 49 Email: klute@watchindonesia.org
Fabian Junge, Watch Indonesia!, Tel.: 030-698 179 38, Mobil: 0176-430 090 22 Email: junge@watchindonesia.org
Klaus Schenck, Rettet den Regenwald, Tel.: 030-5173 6879 Email: berlin@regenwald.org

The petition can be found at: http://www.regenwald.org/international/englisch/protestaktion.php?id=359

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