By AFP - Agence France Presse
Indonesian tribe's homeland at risk after losing latest appeal: NGOs
Indonesia's top court on Friday rejected an indigenous tribe's appeal in its case against a palm oil company, leaving it at risk of losing vast areas of ancestral forest, human rights groups said.
The Awyu tribe, whose 20,000 or so members depend on the land for their livelihoods, had tried to freeze the operations of PT Indo Asiana Lestari (PT IAL) in Indonesia's eastern province of West Papua.
But Indonesia's Supreme Court rejected its latest appeal, according to a document published on its website on Friday, upholding the company's 36,000-hectare (89,000-acre) government concession, more than half the size of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
“I am heartbroken because I have no other legal avenue left to protect the land and people of my ancestral homeland,” said Awyu tribe plaintiff Hendrikus Woro.
“I am devastated because, throughout this struggle, there has been no support from the government, local or central. Who should I turn to, and where should I go now?” he said in a statement released by the Coalition to Save Papuan Customary Forests, made up of 10 environmental NGOs.
A spokesperson for the Supreme Court declined to comment on the decision when contacted by AFP.
The Awyu tribe's case attracted attention in Indonesia earlier this year after a campaign called “All eyes on Papua” spread on social media.
“Both the government and the legal system have failed to support indigenous peoples,” said Sekar Banjaran Aji from Save Papuan Customary Forest's advocacy team.
“The fight to protect Papua's traditional forests has become even more challenging.”
In November, a Papuan court ruled that PT IAL's license was valid, rejecting the Awyu tribe's argument that the concession had been granted on the basis of a flawed environmental impact assessment.
The tribe and environmental NGOs also claim that opponents of the palm oil company's plans have suffered intimidation.
PT IAL did not respond to a request for comment from AFP.
Palm oil is a billion-dollar industry in Indonesia, which is the world's largest producer and exporter of the commodity used in everything from chocolate spreads to cosmetics.
Indonesia produces around 60% of the world's palm oil, a third of which is consumed domestically.
Papua will lose 2.5% of its tree cover between 2001 and 2023, according to Global Forest Watch.
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