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When both you and the journalists who are accompanying you start getting arrested and deported it's usually a sign that you're doing something right. At least that's the case if you work for an organisation that takes direct action against injustice.
Amidst the detainments and deportations, tensions and tears in Indonesia - there is good news! The Indonesian government has just suspended the license of paper and pulp giant APRIL on the Kampar Peninsula. This means that they are forbidden to destroy any carbon-rich forests or peatlands in this area - pending a review of the company's permits.
Our activists have been stopping forest and peatland destruction on the peninsula and highlighting the significant role this destruction plays in climate change. With just 17 days before the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen they have clearly been ruffling a few feathers in Indonesia. But they have also significantly raised the level of international attention on the deforestation issue.
As the authorities are removing our activists, we're calling on the President of Indonesia to permanently remove the real offenders - and show real leadership in the run up to Copenhagen and stop the ongoing forest destruction by major corporations - click here to take action and support this call.
It is unclear at the moment if anyone from outside Indonesia or from the press is going to be allowed to visit the camp, despite their status either as legitimate guests of the country or journalists. There is also of course the risk that the authorities will try and close the camp down again. We simply can't afford to let that happen. The Indonesian authorities need to stop intimidating peaceful activists who are trying to help President Yudhoyono fulfill the commitment he has made to cut Indonesia’s massive CO2 emissions.
When the police tried to shut down our camp last time they were stopped by overwhelming numbers of local people coming out in support of the camp. Once again the local community have returned to the camp to show support despite the fact that police surveillance still hangs over the camp like a dark cloud. We can't be sure what will happen next...
But here's a message with even more good news from Chiara, an Italian activist from Sicily, who wrote this as she was about to be deported from Indonesia earlier today. She was detained by police before she even reached the camp!
Hello forest fighters!As you maybe already know I'm one of the most "dangerous Italians in Indonesia" and I will leave the country in few hours to come back Italy. By now I am sure that many of you are aware of what's been happening to our activists at the Climate Defenders Camp.
Tom, Corinna and the 2 journalists who were accompanying us to the camp were given the deportation order two days ago and yesterday we came back to Jakarta where Raimondo (journalist) and I were picked up by the people of the Italian embassy - who took us under their authority.
Tom and I participated in a press conference which was organised by the Greenpeace South East Asia office so that we could tell our story to international and local media.
Since we were stopped by the police just a few kilometres away from the camp - the Greenpeace office in Italy started issuing press releases and faxes. They also made calls to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here. They did an excellent job and this produced STRONG outcomes in the media - making waves to ALL political levels in Italy.
I gave dozens of interviews with national newspapers, radio and
magazines. Yesterday the Espresso published an interview with Raimondo together with a beautiful photo gallery.And the response is overwhelming! The Italian government has now publicly declared a strong position on forest protection in order to save the climate - for the first time!
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also demanded an explanation from the Italian ambassador in Indonesia - just as the Indonesian Vice President and his delegation is arriving in Rome for a diplomatic visit.
In a few hours I will be escorted by the ambassador to the airport to get my passport and then I am being deported to Italy. I really would like to send the strongest embrace to all the people at the camp that I couldn't join. I'm very proud of what you did and will keep doing!
Please stay tuned. It is far from over - and we really need your support!
baci e abbracci a tutti
Chiara
Indonesian authorities have ramped up Intimidation tactics against Greenpeace activists, independent media and local community members supporting our Climate Defenders Camp on the Kampar Peninsula on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Yesterday Riau police detained Indian and Italian journalists along with Greenpeace activists from Germany, Belgium and Italy, who were en-route to the climate defenders camp. They are still being held by the authorities and were questioned through the night.
The activists and journalists are traveling on valid business and journalist visas, and were on their way to meet the villagers of Teluk Meranti, who had mobilised to support Greenpeace climate defenders on Sunday.
From Sarah Burton in Jakarta - who wrote earlier from our Climate Defenders Camp).
I have learned that in campaigning things can change overnight, of course, and in this campaign, I have learned that things can change two or three times overnight. Here's what happened overnight.
Yesterday one of our volunteers at the climate camp, a technical specialist from Brussels, was removed by the local police to their local station. Meanwhile a couple of journalists from India and Italy and a few more Greenpeace activists and campaigners were on their way from Pekanbaru to the camp. The police car hauling our volunteer away saw them coming down the road. The upshot is that all were detained at a local police station and questioned to the wee small hours. Then they were put up for the night locally and made to return next morning (that would be this morning actually) for more questioning.
And the story the authorities tells keeps changing: they are being detained on immigration charges, they are being detained but not charged, they are on the wrong visas, they have the wrong (or no) paperwork to travel in the region. But we can see what is happening, there is a fear of international attention for the campaign.
Satu, campaigner onboard our ship the Arctic Sunrise - writes from the Baltic Sea:
The Baltic Sea was rather calm and the weather surprisingly warm for November, when six activists from the Arctic Sunrise boarded the cargo ship Happy Ranger in Fehmarn Belt, the straits between Denmark and Germany. The ship is carrying steam generators - one of the main components of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant, which is being built in Finland. The construction of the plant has been plagued by problems since the very beginning, and at the moment it is over three years delayed and more than double over budget. And the same companies that own the new reactor are now investing in new fossil fuel plants!
Sarah Burton, our Deputy Programme Director, shares her excitement with us as she witnesses the community support and the eviction reversal for our Climate Defenders Camp in Indonesia
Well, when I finished writing yesterday, I really thought that I would be going to the Climate Defenders Camp to bear witness to a peaceful demonstration of activism being disrupted and our team and local community representatives being evicted.
What a difference a day makes. I did bear witness, indeed, but to something altogether more inspiring...to people power in its most direct form.
Sarah applauds the local communities for their efforts to protect their forests and thanks them for their support of Greenpeace. ©Ardiles Rante/Grenpeace
What an amazing day we have had here in Indonesia today...
In a surprising move, the chief of police of Pelalawan district has revoked yesterdays eviction order after 300 locals from nearby Teluk Meranti village turned up at the camp this morning to show their support.
The eviction notice was delivered in response to pressure from climate criminals after pulp and paper giant APRIL's operations were stopped by Greenpeace activists for over 10 hours on Thursday. An action which was strongly supported by local communities.
"We want Greenpeace to stay in this camp as long as possible. Their presence in Semenanjung Kampar is really helping us to protect this forest from destruction," said Suwandi, a school teacher in Teluk Meranti, "If in the future Greenpeace is forced to leave Kampar, we demand that APRIL should also get out of Kampar" he added.
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