| Letter from FPP to the High Commissioner of Malaysia |
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Protest at persecution of Penan people, Sarawak, Malaysia H.E. Dato Abd. Aziz Mohammed 11 July 2006 Dear High Commissioner: Call for just treatment of the Penan people, police restraint and recognition and protection of ancestral forest territories (Sarawak, Malaysia) The FPP is writing to you to express its deep concern after receiving reports of actions taken by logging company workers on 5th July 2006 to break a road block set up by the Penan people on their ancestral lands near Ba Abang in the Middle Baram region of Sarawak in the 4th and 5th Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. We understand from recent reports that the Penan protesters now fear for their safety and have fled to the forest to escape persecution by the Federal Reserve Unit. We are likewise alarmed to learn that the Penan community of Long Benali is threatened with similar actions aimed at destroying their peaceful blockade against logging of their customary forest lands. By means of this letter we urge you to inform the relevant authorities in the Malaysian government that the affected communities and the international community are calling on the Malaysian police to show restraint and to respect the human and customary rights of the Penan people who have acted peacefully to defend their ancestral lands and forests. At the same time, we call on your national government and its local authorities to refrain from any actions to dismantle the remaining blockade in the upper Baram river basin and to take timely measures to recognize and respect the legitimate customary land rights of the Penan people in Sarawak. In this regard, the Forest Peoples Programme appeals to the Malaysian authorities to ensure that all logging operations affecting traditional Penan lands are halted forthwith, and that steps are taken as soon as is practicable to annul all forestry concessions in the Baram region which have been superimposed on the ancestral lands of the Penan people. In addition, we call for effective regulation of Malaysian logging companies operating in Sarawak and elsewhere, including stringent measures to ensure that they do not violate the human rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, as well as measures to sanction these companies for past abuses committed against indigenous forest-dependent communities. We await information on how the Malaysian government plans to deal with this urgent matter and look forward to receiving official confirmation that steps are being taken to respect the rights of the Penan communities in Sarawak. Sincerely, Dr Thomas Griffiths (Policy Advisor)
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