NGOs to sue government over reforestation fund<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Eleven non-governmental organizations announced
\nyesterday their intention to sue the government for using its
\nhuge reforestation fund to support the development of the state-
\nowned aircraft company IPTN.<\/p>\n
M.S. Zulkarnaen, chairman of the Indonesian Environmental
\nForum (Walhi), one of the plaintiffs, said a presidential decree
\nissued in June, ordering the forestry ministry to grant a Rp 400
\nbillion (US$190 million) interest-free loan to the company,
\nviolated previous regulations on how the funds should be used.<\/p>\n
\"We plan to file the suit at Jakarta Administrative Court on
\nAug. 25,\" Zulkarnaen told reporters.<\/p>\n
The other plaintiffs include Yayasan Lembaga Alam Tropika
\n(Latin), Yayasan Study Kependudukan dan Lingkungan Hidup
\n(Forsikal), Yayasan Lembaga Pengembangan Lingkungan dan Sumber
\nDaya Manusia and Yayasan Lingkaran. Lawyers from the Indonesian
\nLegal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) will represent the plaintiffs.
\nForty-one other organizations reportedly stand behind the suit.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen said the government has defied a presidential
\ndecree issued in 1990 which clearly stated that reforestation
\nfunds should be used only for reforestation programs. Another
\ndecree on how the funds should be used was issued in 1993 to
\nrevise the old one, he added.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen explained that the government has denied the
\npresidential instruction issued in 1989 on the use of interest
\ngenerated from the fund. \"Our question is, how can the funds be
\nused for a purpose other than reforestation, while the
\nreforestation programs are not yet fully implemented.\"<\/p>\n
The government has said that the reforestation fund will be
\nused to develop IPTN's newest model, the N-250, the prototype of
\nwhich will be rolled out in November when leaders of the Asia-
\nPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum attend a summit in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
IPTN is optimistic that it can sell 700 N-250s within 20
\nyears. IPTN also plans to establish production facilities in the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen said that reforestation funds have now accumulated
\nto a total of Rp 2.4 trillion ($1.11 billion) and are kept at
\nBBD, Exim and Bapindo banks with interest earnings of around Rp
\n900 billion ($416 million) a year.<\/p>\n
The loan granted to IPTN is even bigger than the reforestation
\nfunds allocated to the forestry ministry for the 1994\/1995 fiscal
\nyear which is only Rp 138 billion ($65.7 million), he pointed
\nout.<\/p>\n
Accountability<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen said the NGOs are questioning the government's
\naccountability for granting the funds while its efforts to
\nreplant the critical forests have been far from satisfactory.<\/p>\n
The government has managed to replant 480,000 hectares of
\ncritical forest of the targeted 1.9 million hectares throughout
\nthe country in the past five years, he said.<\/p>\n
He also said that the process of deforestation is far more
\naggressive than the government is willing to admit.<\/p>\n
Quoting the results of official satellite surveys, he said
\nIndonesia's total forestry area had declined from 119.3 million
\nhectares in 1985 to 92.4 million hectares to 1990.<\/p>\n
This, he pointed out, represent an annual loss of 2.4 million
\nhectares of forest, compared to the 600,000 hectares a year
\ndeclared by the government.<\/p>\n
The petitioners in their lawsuit warned that the public would
\nlose their faith on the government's seriousness to protect the
\nforests because of its policy in granting the funds for IPTN.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen denied the suggestion that the plaintiffs were
\ntaking retaliatory measure against the government's plan to issue
\na decree to control the activities of NGOs.<\/p>\n
He told The Jakarta Post however that the move might affect
\nthe plan if people become more aware of the \"authoritarian\"
\napproach employed by the government.<\/p>\n
NGOs are aware of the consequences which might occur because
\nof their suit. \"I have even dreamt that I'd go to jail because of
\nthis,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen said that if the suit ended in failure, the group
\nwould take their case to the House of Representatives (DPR), the
\nSupreme Court or the district court. (par)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ngos-to-sue-government-over-reforestation-fund-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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