NGOs sue Japanese bank

NGOs sue Japanese bank

JAKARTA: Two Indonesian non-governmental organizations have filed a suit with a Japanese court against the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), demanding it stop funding the construction of a Rp 29 billion bridge near the Rawa Singkil Animal Park in Aceh.

An international campaigner from the Indonesian NGO Network for Forest Conservation (SKEPHI), Hajrul Junaid, said on Tuesday his organization and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) filed the suit in mid-October, after the JBIC ignored its warnings that construction of the bridge would increase illegal logging and environmental degradation.

The 180-meter bridge is being constructed by a contractor with the consent of the Ministry of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure.

SKEPHI has called on the ministry to halt work on the bridge, pointing out that there is already a nearby bridge, but the ministry has insisted that the construction will continue.- JP