British TV bans MPI forestry ad

In response to your article about the British TV body suspending the forestry commercial paid for and produced by the Indonesian Forestry Community (MPI), published on Aug. 15, 1994.

The executive president of Association of Indonesian Wood Panel Producers, A. Tjipto Wignjoprajitno, said that our protests against the advertisement were "made out of ignorance" because, he implied, we did not realize that clear cutting was legally allowed in Indonesia, in convertible forests.

The MPI ad however made the blanket claim that clear cutting is not allowed in Indonesia. Why did they make this claim? Could it be that Bob Hasan and the MPI are the ones ignorant of RI forestry regulations?

It was our very appreciation of the fact that RI legally allowed clear cutting in certain circumstances which made it very simple for us to provide the Independent Television Commission (ITC) with evidence to counter the claims made by the MPI ad.

On another point, I was extremely disappointed to read that Pak Tjipto ascribes all the blame for illegal logging to the "500,000 families of farmers throughout the country who depend on the slash and burning method".

It has been estimated by Bob Hasan that US$3.5 billion in government revenue is lost each year through illegal logging. How can 500,000 families who probably don't own a single chain saw account for this?

What about companies like Indah Kiat, which have been recently fined for illegal logging? What about PT Kalhold Utama, one of Bob Hasan's own companies, that clear cut a highly productive forest (and therefore does not fulfill RI regulations for clear cutting), which has since been proven to belong to the Bentian Dayaks of Jelmu Sibak?

When such glaring and highly pertinent omissions of fact are made by the Indonesian timber industry, how can we be expected to take anything they say seriously? And if they do not wish "us Westerners" to have an opinion on the condition of Indonesia's rain forests, why do they choose to pay such huge amounts of money to invade our living rooms with this ad?

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to make it clear that, contrary to the statement made by Pak Tjipto, the ITC took the decision to permanently withdraw the ad as from Aug. 13, 1994.

TERRY BROOKES

Project Coordinator

Down to Earth

London