Released - thank you! Urgent Action: Debt Justice Activists Arrested in Bali

Update: 21st Nov 2011

The Debt and Climate Justice activsts have now been released.

It is unclear whether the Filipino activists were deported or not. Here is an update and message of thanks from Lidy Nacpil. She also highlighted that the Indonesian activsts are ok too.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Thanks to your quick solidarity actions and especially the timely and untiring pressure/lobby/legal work of our Indonesian colleagues we were released from the custody of Bali authorities and have left Bali. Two of us boarded our flight to Dhaka for the South Asian Social Forum late yesterday afternoon and two others flew home to the Philippines this morning, in both cases with escorts from Balinese authorities until the boarding gates.

We are not sure if we were officially deported because according to our lawyers deportation would have required more paperwork and time on the part of the authorities. But our passports were stamped at the airport -- "Must leave Indonesia.." We hope this doesnt mean we will not be allowed entry in the future as we have frequent activities in Indonesia, the next being in January 2012. Regardless, this is still a victory as the authorities were seriously considering the option of filing criminal charges.

On the whole the conditions we were subjected to were not as harsh as what many similar incidents of detentions often involve. But what is important is not how much we have been inconvenienced but that it was a clear violation of democratic rights & an attempt to further constrict whatever democratic space is there.

The impetus for this was undoubtedly the presence of presidents and prime ministers of some of the worlds powerful countries, especially the US whose consulate the rally targetted. The treatment of foreigners' presence in the rally this time was very different from what I experienced at two other actions I joined in Bali in recent years.

Again many many thanks for your concern and encouraging messages and solidarity actions!

In the coming days we will be at events on debt, tax justice, essential services, and climate at the South Asia Social Forum here in Dhaka. And a rally on climate!

Cheers
Lidy
__._,_.___

---------

Please take this action in support of our Southern debt justice and climate justice colleagues, arrested in Bali on Friday 18th. Our dear friend Lidy Nacpil of Philippines was among those arrested.The activsits were engaging in a peaceful proetst to highlight the problems of climate debt. DDCI is following up with the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs to ask that their right to freedom of expression be protected.

Issued By Freedom from Debt Coalition Philippines / Walhi (Friends of the Earth) Indonesia

URGENT ACTION: Stop the Arrest of Indonesian and Filipino Activists from WALHI & FDC Jubilee South Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development

Three civil society activists from Indonesia and four from the Philippines were detained by Bali police for more than 12 hours starting Friday November 18 at 3:00 afternoon until 4:15 am November 19.

The incident happened after the local police clamped down on a rally that passed several foreign Consulate offices in Bali including those of the US and Japan on the morning of Friday, 18 November 2011. The rally was organized by Indonesian Civil Society Coalition to coincide with the ASEAN Summit attended by world's most powerful countries' leaders including Barack Obama.

The civil society coalition called for ASEAN countries to defend their people's rights and sovereignty and meet the needs of their people first before servicing rich countries' drive to plunder and control the remaining natural resources of ASEAN countries.

They further called on the ASEAN country leaders to claim reparations and restitution of ecological debt, including climate debt, owed by industrial countries to the peoples of the South. Acknowledgment of the past and present wrongs by the rich countries and their taking action based on respect for rights and needs of people in the majority world - most of them former colonies - is fundamental to ecological and climate justice.

Schemes being set up as solution to climate change, such as REDD, allow rich nations to go on with business-as-usual, instead of addressing their responsibilities and obligations including tackling the problem in their own backyard first and foremost. Without climate justice, very little progress would be made to solve the dire problem of climate change. And we are running out of time.

The peaceful rally was organized to address these concerns and, ironically, was met by narrow-mindedness of the Indonesian authorities who did not respect the protestors to right to freedom of expression. The authorities clearly were not interested in the state of our common future.

As of press time, four activists of the Philippines - 3 from Jubilee South- APMDD and 1 from the Freedom from Debt Coalition, are facing possible criminal charges or of deportation. The police have yet to decide the fate of the 3 activists of Walhi (Indonesian Friends of the Earth). Final decision will be made by the police by 8:00 am Bali time.

We urgently ask your solidarity to send messages to the Indonesia and local Bali authority below to get back to their senses and respect the freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Indonesian law.

1. Indonesian Chief of Police: General Timur Pradopo (Mobile number: +628128102123)
2. Bali province Chief of Police: Inspector General Totoy Herawan Indra
3. Bali province Vice Chief of Police: Ketut Untung Yoga (Mobile: +62 811 386 9994)
4. Director of Intelligence of Bali Police: Commissioner General Oman Sunarya (Mobile: +62 811 898 171)
5. cc to Chair of Human Rights Commission of Indonesia IFDHAL KASIM (+62811196579) and Chair of Human Rights Committion of the Philippines LORETTA ANN ROSALES (+639189334356) and Philippine Embassy in Jakarta (+62213100334)

The three activists from WALHI are:
1. Sri Ranti
2. Teguh Surya
3. Gendo Suardana

The four activists from JSAPMDD & FDC are

1. Lidy Nacpil
2. Manjet Lopez
3. Malou Tabios
4. Rhoda Viajar

Contact Persons:
Ahmad SH (WALHI) +6281337374038
Milo Tanchuling (representative of Filipino activists) Cel Phone +639209018711 email <mntanchuling@yahoo.com>