Update: Five Penan communities on the Baram River have sued logging giant Samling for violating their indigenous land rights. They are demanding land titles to 80,000 sq. hectares of rainforest, nullification of four timber licenses plus compensation for damages. In the suit the Penan people will prove their use of the affected forest since before recorded time. They claim the timber operators have wrongfully trespassed on their customary forest with heavy equipment and destroyed a substantial area of forest they use to gather natural products for barter trade as well as fruit trees and crops. A Malaysian government report confirmed allegations by Penan that a number of indigenous girls and women have been sexually molested and raped by logging company employees. For more information on the suit and supporting evidence contact the Bruno Manser Fund in Basel Switzerland. {First Post 12.5.09}On the island of Borneo [map], seventeen native Penan communities have declared a "Penan Peace Park". The November 17th declaration is destined for controversy because all of the land within the park boundaries has been leased by the Sarawak state government to a giant timber company, Samling. The last remnants of primeval forest on the upper reaches of the Baram River were declared a nature reserve by Penan leaders. The Penan are the last indigenous rain forest hunter-gatherers. They engage in agriculture since the 1950s, but still depend on the forests for food, medicine, and raw material for handicrafts and shelter. Their entire culture is centered on the life-giving forests that surround them. D
espite repeated assurances from the Malaysian government to preserve an area for the Penan, logging companies continue to clear the forest. The Peace Park covers an area of about 629 square miles around the Gunung Murud Kecil mountain range on the border with Indonesia, and between national parks on either side of the border. One of the headmen at the ceremony in Long Ajeng village said, "we wish to live peacefully together with neighboring tribes and as fully recognized Malaysian citizens." The dedication was attended by about 200 Penan. A Swiss citizen who lived with Penan in the 80's to help their struggle to preserve their home, Bruno Manser, disappeared into the forest in May 2000 and is presumed dead. A fund was set up in his honor to help indigenous people in Sarawak protect the forest from total destruction. GREEN KUDOS to the Penan!
espite repeated assurances from the Malaysian government to preserve an area for the Penan, logging companies continue to clear the forest. The Peace Park covers an area of about 629 square miles around the Gunung Murud Kecil mountain range on the border with Indonesia, and between national parks on either side of the border. One of the headmen at the ceremony in Long Ajeng village said, "we wish to live peacefully together with neighboring tribes and as fully recognized Malaysian citizens." The dedication was attended by about 200 Penan. A Swiss citizen who lived with Penan in the 80's to help their struggle to preserve their home, Bruno Manser, disappeared into the forest in May 2000 and is presumed dead. A fund was set up in his honor to help indigenous people in Sarawak protect the forest from total destruction. GREEN KUDOS to the Penan!