MPI's TV advert<\/p>\n
In Europe, MPI's highly controversial TV adverts are likely to
\nbe a prolonged disgrace for Indonesia over the question of the
\nsustainable management of the country's rain forests. The Dutch
\nindependent advertising committee (RCC) decide on Oct. 12, 1994
\nto suspend MPI's adverts in the Netherlands, due to formal
\ncomplaints from numerous environmental, human rights and
\ndevelopmental organizations.<\/p>\n
SKEPHI Support Office, an independent work group of SKEPHI in
\nthe Netherlands, has sent out a press release concerning RCC's
\ndecision. It has been widely distributed to the Indonesian press.
\nThe release mainly calls on the Indonesian government, as well as
\nto the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), to intervene
\nand prohibit such adverts in the future, since they would further
\njeopardize the sincere effort in sustainable forest management
\nundertaken by the Forestry ministry.<\/p>\n
MPI's aggressive and highly manipulative adverts have had an
\ninternational history dating back to 1990. MPI's adverts in
\ninternational newspapers at that time, such as The New York
\nTimes, cost approximately US$ 50,000 and claimed that there was
\n143 million hectares of Indonesian rain forest remaining. This
\nwas deceit. Internal ministerial forestry documents and respected
\ninternational agencies concluded that much less remained: 86
\nmillion hectares.<\/p>\n
MPI and IMPACT in Jakarta, and the advertising distributing
\ncompany Mediacom International in London, were given two weeks to
\nappeal against the Dutch ban. The RCC has informed us that MPI
\njust submitted their request. Instead of two weeks, MPI requested
\n20 days to prepare their appeal.<\/p>\n
Staff and members of SKEPHI Support Office were relieved to
\nread Forestry Minister Djamaluddin's statement in this newspaper
\n(Oct. 13, 1994), admitting some of the misleading information
\nconveyed by MPI's adverts and the ongoing ban of the advert in
\nJapan. It can be concluded that the ministry has begun to take a
\nstance amid inconvenient advertising affecting Indonesia
\ninternationally.<\/p>\n
The decision by MPI to appeal against the RCC ban is unwise
\nbecause many more organizations will be submitting their second
\nphase complaints to the RCC. We appeal again to members of DPR to
\nintervene to save Indonesia's image internationally.<\/p>\n
HASJRUL JUNAID<\/p>\n
Rain forest Campaigner<\/p>\n
SKEPHI Support Office<\/p>\n
Amsterdam<\/p>\n
The Netherlands<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mpis-tv-advert-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }