Palmoilmagazine, PAPUA – Not only once that indigenous forests were planted by palm oil plantation companies. This time, the Awyu is the victim that PT Indo Asiana Lestari (PT IAL) planted indigenous forests.
Hendrikus “Franky” Woro, the representative of the Awyu, tried to serve justice on their indigenous forests they have had.
“We do not want any company operates and destroy our forests. They are important for us indigenous people. If we want to eat, drink, wood, everything depends on the nature,” he said, as in the official information to Palmoilmagazine recently.
Franky did protests about environment and climate change to Administrative Court Jaya Pura in March 2023. He wants that the government should revoke the permit of PT IAL according to environment impact analysis by not considering indigenous people’s rights, particularly, the Awyu. Unfortunately, Administrative Court Jayapura is never transparent about permit information that PT IAL might have got.
But what they fight for not only in Jayapura. After the claim was sued in Jayapura, there was information that PT Megakarya Jaya Raya and PT Kartika Cipta Pratama – that their plantations were next to PT IAL in South Papua Province – claimed Minister of Forestry and Environment to cancel Decision of Controlling and Arrangement of Forest Area Relinquishment Holder on behalf of the two companies.
Of course, Franky and his friend would not stay still. They flew to Jakarta to plead as defendant intervention to Administrative Court Jakarta. They came to Ministry of Environment and Forestry to get justice served on indigenous forests in Papua. Some media and people followed up the case.
Many support them. What the Awyu fighting for is not over. They keep struggling for justice on the indigenous forests in Papua. The Awyu needs more support to serve justice.
The Awyu fights not only for their indigenous forests but also the safe environment because the climate crisis is threatening ahead. The struggle is ours together. (T2)
