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