By Survival International,
Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud faced protests by supporters of the Penan in the UK today, while British MPs have written to him expressing concern over the newly documented cases of sexual abuse of Penan women.
Protestors from Survival International and other organizations greeted the Chief Minister in Oxford this morning, where he had travelled with cabinet colleagues to give the keynote speech at the Inaugural Oxford Global Islamic Branding and Marketing Forum. The protestors held placards reading ‘Penan tribe say NO to logging’ and ‘Malaysia: Stop destroying the Penan tribe’. The protest forced the Chief Minister to enter the building through a side entrance.
The chairman of the British parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal peoples, MP Martin Horwood, has written to Taib Mahmud on the occasion of the Chief Minister’s visit to the UK. ‘The Penan have frequently been subject to violence and intimidation at the hands of loggers operating on their land… Without recognition of their land rights, the Penan are struggling to provide for themselves, and are left vulnerable to violence and exploitation’.
Mr Horwood urged the Chief Minister to ‘halt logging and other developments on the Penan’s land without their free, prior and informed consent, according to international law’ and to ‘ensure that Penan women and girls are protected from sexual violence and the perpetrators of such abuse brought to justice’.
Download photos of the Oxford demonstration
Download a copy of the All Party Parliamentary Group’s letter to the Chief Minister
1 comment:
Oh ! This is terrible.
This is bad news and such protest is very bad for the image of Malaysia.
We are not like Myanmar , you know?
We have ERECTION every 5 years .
Where are the UK police? Why the protesters are not arrested .
Dont talk shit , dont talk shit , dont talk shit..
Sounds familiar?
Right now only the Penans can saves themselves.
The only way to do it will be by giving the Penans an avenue to speak up.
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