Press Release Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia/Friends of the Earth Indonesia Jakarta-Corporates operating in the forest and plantation sectors included in the businessman association both APHI and GAPKI have filed judicial review to the Constitutional Court regarding several articles in Law 32/2009 which are considered contradictive with the Constitution by the corporates, in particular article 88 in which stipulates the principle of strict liability in the case of environmental violation. This Judicial Review lawsuit filed by the corporates power is not only dangerous for the environment, but is also threatening the well being of the people in today and future generations. We are aware that Law 32/2009 is actually in accordance to Constitution which is why we consider this Law as one of the progressive laws to protect the environment as well as the well-being of the people. To put the most fundamental thing: that the rights over good and healthy environment as the fundamental rights, constitutional rights of citizens and human rights. National Executive Director of WALHI, Nur Hidayati, states that “what has been done by this capital power should be considered as the systematic effort by large-scale corporates against the Constitution and Law. Corporates still try to overpower the State and law supremacy through many things, including judicial review filed by this large-scale Forest and Plantation Businessman Association. In addition to such judicial review, corporates keep doing their maneuver against the regulation on Peat Ecosystem Protection and Management, even politically, such corporates encourage the Bills on Palm Oil while keep driving public opinion to blame indigenous and local people for the forest and peat land fires, and claim that large-scale palm oil and timber plantation are not the cause of deforestation.
Today corporates try to create logic of law that they are the one who are being violated for their rights by making it bias between a large-scale corporate entity and citizen, in fact they are the perpetrators who are the most responsible for the violation of human rights during the forest and peat bog ecosystem fires. The investment practice which has been done for all these times in fact violates the fundamental rights of citizens, takes over the human rights and even takes over the environmental rights itself” Nur Hidayati emphasized. WALHI intends to encourage all citizens to not forget the crimes towards environment and human committed by corporates power for a long time. The forest and peat bog ecosystem fires causing unbearable loss, not to mention the loss of living rights of the people and other inhabitants also the destroyed economy, social and culture of the people. Data of WALHI indicates that most of the hot spots were found in the corporates’ concession area, at least in forest and land fires happened in 2015. This nation should realize that this judicial review filed by the corporates is the systematic effort against the Constitution and Laws provisions and to avoid the law in practicing their businesses. At last, as the executor of Constitution mandate, we remind the President, law enforcers and courts, including the Constitutional Court as the guardian of Constitution to put our Constitution as the foundation in protecting human rights in order to get the rights over good and healthy environment. We also remind the President, law enforcers and courts to, without hesitation, keep enforcing the law against corporate crimes in accordance with the Constitution and Law 32/2009 regarding Environmental Protection and Management.
Rights for People, Rules for Business #StopCorporateImpunity Jakarta, 28th May 2017 CP: Fatilda (0812 6076 7526)
