President reminded of her promise on GMO

President reminded of her promise on GMO

JAKARTA (JP): A group of non-governmental organizations
opposed to the commercial use of genetically modified organisms
(GMO) called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri to make good on
her April promise to review government rules on the technology.

Megawati should impose a five-year moratorium on transgenic
experiments as well as on the sale of GMO-based products, the NGO
Coalition for Biosafety and Food Safety said on Friday.

Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) chairwoman Indah
Suksmaningsih said that in April, when Megawati was Vice
President, she made a promise to the coalition to review the
policy on the application of genetic engineering technology in
the country.

"We have tried to press the government to pay attention to the
issue, but to no avail. I think it is time for the President to
take action," Indah told reporters at the YLKI office.

The NGOs said many transgenic products, whether in the form of
crops or processed food, had been flooding the country in the
absence of clear-cut government regulations.

They cited papaya and tomatoes among commodities already
developed using the technology and sold on the open market.

The coalition has also filed a class action lawsuit against
the Ministry of Agriculture for issuing decree No. 107 this year,
which allowed the use of genetically engineered seeds by cotton
farmers in South Sulawesi and the sale of their products.

The coalition opposes the commercial application of transgenic
technology -- a new way of creating higher-quality crops and
stocks by inserting genes from other species -- over concerns of
the possible impact on human health and on the environment.

Although some scientists have given an assurance that the
technology is harmless, most governments around the world agree
that "the jury is still out" about the real long-term effects on
people's lives.

Besides YLKI, the 72 NGOs in the coalition include the
Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) and the National
Consortium for Nature and Forest Conservation (Kophalindo).

The group said that after declaring a moratorium on the
commercial application of transgenic technology, the government
should strive to pass into law a bill on biosafety and food
safety, now being debated in the House of Representatives.

The government must also ratify the Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety, it said.

The commercial application of GMO technology in Indonesia is
currently controlled by a 1999 decree jointly issued by the
Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Horticulture, and
Health.

Sukma Violetta of ICEL said the decree was weak because it did
not state which of these four government agencies held the
greatest responsibility.

Hira Jhamtani of Kophalindo said with no clear-cut
regulations, Indonesia could become a dumping ground for other
countries to dispose of their transgenic products.

This could be prevented if the government compelled companies
to label products which contained genetically engineered
elements, she said. (07)