Greenpeace Reports Palm Oil Activists Beaten Up in Indonesia

Author and activist Glenn Hurowitz shared the following email and press release. You can see more images on the Huffing Posts link.

"Hi folks - Our Indonesian colleagues just staged a huge action at one of the biggest global warming polluters - Sinar Mas, an Indonesian company that deforests some of the most carbon-rich forests in the world (they're on top of peatlands) for palm oil, which is responsible for (in Indonesia alone) up to eight percent of total global warming pollution and goes into products like Godiva chocolates, KitKat, Tide, Dove soap, and many other products - even though it's totally unnecessary and those products all have equal or better equivalents that don't use palm oil.

We've got a release, video, and pics up: http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/news/sinarmas_axn

Jakarta, Indonesia — Greenpeace activists were brutally kicked and punched this morning when they led a peaceful protest at the headquarters of Indonesia’s largest logging and palm oil company, the Sinar Mas Group, in Jakarta today. Greenpeace is demanding a halt to continuing destruction of Indonesia’s last remaining forests by the company
Twenty-five Greenpeace activists chained themselves at the entrance to the Sinar Mas building, and Greenpeace climbers deployed a huge 20m x 10m banner to brand Sinar Mas ‘Forest and Climate Criminal'. Police then arrived at the scene and removed the activists.

"The excessive violence today by Sinar Mas security is testament to the way this company does business. Sinar Mas may think they are above the law, but the right to peaceful protest is enshrined in Indonesian constitution. We took action today because Sinar Mas and the Indonesian Government are failing to do so. We are facing the greatest threat to humanity - climate chaos, yet still companies like Sinar Mas continue to destroy forests and peatlands, rather than protecting them for future generations and, as is becoming increasingly clear, for climate stability", said Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Forest campaigner.


Greenpeace has been monitoring Sinar Mas operations in Riau Province, Sumatra, West Kalimantan and Papua over the past years and has recently gathered fresh evidence of Sinar Mas Group's ongoing destruction in these areas. Sinar Mas is also poised for massive expansion as they hold unplanted concession areas totalling another 200,000 hectares of Indonesian rainforest and have plans to acquire a further 1.1 million hectares, mainly in Papua. Furthermore, human rights organisations have raised serious concerns following the heavy handed repression of community protests against APP (owned by Sinar Mas) in Suluk Bongkal, Riau at the end of last year.

"Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is saying internationally that he will reduce Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions, yet Sinar Mas continue their forest destruction unabated. If he is serious about Indonesia being a global leader in solving the climate crisis, he must take immediate action to stop this company destroying Indonesia's greatest asset - carbon rich forests and peatland", urged Maitar.

Greenpeace is calling for an immediate halt to all expansion into forests and peatland by Sinar Mas and other companies. Further, they are calling on the Indonesian government to immediately implement a moratorium on any further forest conversion. This will not only help curb the country's greenhouse gas emissions, but will also safeguard the wealth of tropical biodiversity and protect the livelihood of forest dependent communities all across Indonesia.

The Indonesian government needs to take action to protect the nation's people from the impacts of climate change through reducing Indonesia's emissions by 75% by 2012 and pushing industrialised countries to pay for this reduction in deforestation as well as cutting their own emissions dramatically.
We'd greatly appreciate any attention you can bring to this.

Thank you!

Glenn