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)