Home Back to activities Bruno Manser Fonds Heuberg 25 4051 Basel Switzerland phone +41 61 261 94 74 fax +41 61 261 94 73 info@bmf.ch updated 2001-01-31

Borneo Project, January 17th, 2001 SEMI-SETTLE PENANS RESUMED BLOCKADE SINCE FRIDAY, 5TH JANUARY 2001 More than one hundred Penans, including women and children from some Penan villages from the two Penan villages, Long Sayan and Long Belok located in the interior land areas of river Apoh, Tutoh in the Baram region had erected blockade on logging road belonging to Lajong Lumber Sdn. Bhd., subsidiary company to Rimbunan Hijau Sdn. Bhd. Every body at the blockade They launched this non-violence protest action against its logging activities which have been repeatedly carrying out all over their ancestral forest land areas. According to TK Ajang Kiew, Penan Longhouse Chief from Long Sayan had informed SAM that there are thirty logging tractors/machineries use for cutting and removing of timbers from all over their traditional forest land areas. Minimum of 200 cubic tonnes of timbers harvested by each tractor per month.

RESULT OF THE BLOCKADE

1. has put a stop for company Rimbunan Hijau to operate logging and transporting harvested timber logs down to Temala based ponds since time of erecting blockade on 5th January.
   
   
2. on January 9, the company had responded and brought up a group of kayans from Long Bedian with two Policemen from Marudi Central Police Station to the blockade site. This is always a way for company to threaten the Penan. The Kayans group sided the company and blatantly spoke out to go against the Penans action. They ordered them to dismentle the blockade and simply claim that the Penans in Sungai Apoh have no legal rihgt over land area where blockade is being held. However, after a lenghty urgument with the protesters,both could not do anything and have left the blockade.
   
   
3. So far there has been no violence at the blockade. Two Policemen from Marudi Police Station were dispatched at the blockade site on 9th January and no arrest was warranted till today.

GRIEVANCES

1. Tk Ajang Kiew claim that the said Timber Company has failed to honour most of its` promises and did not specifically adhered to the term and condition of an agreement letter signed on 15th October 1997.
   
   This is concerning a part of Long Sayan communal forest land area being protected for water catchments, where their existing gravity source supply of pipe-water is going to their longhouse. Base on this specific term, the said company shall not be entering into the area prior to negotiation deal with the people in Long Sayan.
   
   
2. protesters complain that the said company is of hash attitude, very difficult to negotiate with, arrogant, selfish, difficult to obtain assistances like transport to bring ill person to the clinic and piles of surplus round logs just burned to ash without sympathy to give them for Penans to cut for their building materials.
   
   
3. despite of numerous appeals and efforts to express their concerns, urging for an urgent intervention of government authorities to resolve common problems faced, their demand for legal protection of rights over their traditional forest areas and to stop logging within their traditional forest lands, but no positive reaction until today.
   
   
4. the Penans becoming more worry due to continuous loggings all over their traditional forest land areas, and thus creating serious food shortage which they now experiencing diffidulties to sustain their traditional way of life and free access of food that they have used to obtain from their surrounding forest.

DEMANDS / APPEALS

• to seek legal protection of native rights over their ancestral lands and forest areas
• urge the government to resolve claim rights over some areas of native customary land in dispute with the Kayan community from Long Bedian, Sungai Apoh/tutoh, Baram,
• pay compensation to their forest destruction and its natural resources.
• urge the government to deeply viewing the plights and the complaints raised by the Penans and to stop baseless accusation against any actions taken by them.

COMMENT

On Wednesday, 10th January 2001, TK Ajang Kiew and two others from Long Belok have came down to Marudi mainly to give information of their blockade. They said they will continue putting up the blockade until their problem is resolved.