Greenpeace activists detained in Riau
Semenanjung Kampar, Riau Province (ANTARA News) - Around 40 activists of Greenpeace have been taken to the district police station and continue to be detained for questioning here Friday.
Two-thirds of the committed activists are from Indonesia, the rest are foreign nationals from around the world, according to information on the official website of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
"As darkness fell last night, our activists ended yesterday`s action against pulp and paper giant APRIL who continue to be involved in mass forest clearance, despite repeatedly stating that they have ceased such activities in the Kampar Peninsula," Greenpeace said.
The action, undertaken in the heart of the Sumatran rainforest, successfully prevented APRIL staff from using excavators and heavy machinery, stopping the clearing of carbon-rich peatland and intact forest for 10 hours.
The call to stop deforestation and peatland drainage was heard all the way to Helsinki, where Finnish global paper giant UPM-Kymmene has stated it will stop buying pulp from APRIL.
This is a major win in the fight against runaway climate change as deforestation and peat land degradation are the two major causes of greenhouse gas emission in Indonesia, the world`s third largest emitter of CO2 after the US and China, Greenpeace said.
Greenpeace`s action took place on the Kampar Peninsula on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, on Thursday, where Greenpeace has set up a `Climate Defenders` Camp`.
A group of activists locked themselves to three excavators, owned by Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Limited, one of Indonesia`s biggest pulp and paper producers, to prevent it destroying the rainforest to make way for tree plantations, grown to make pulp and paper for international customers, including UPM Kymmene.
The action took place two days before US President Barack Obama joins 20 other Heads of State in Singapore to discuss Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and just weeks before leaders must agree an historic deal to avert a climate crisis at the climate at December`s UN climate summit. (*)
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PubDate: 11/13/09 17:22
