MANILA, Philippines – Environmental activists urged the government Tuesday to press Indonesia to release a colleague arrested by police in that country and demand an explanation.

Jean Marie Ferraris was among 13 workers from nongovernmental organizations arrested by Indonesian police while holding a press conference in Cirebon, West Java on the environmental impact of cioal-fired power plants.

The estimated 100 police officers were reportedly accompanied by representatives of the coal-fired power plant operated by Cirebon Elektrik Power Ltd, the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRNC) said in a statement.

“We denounce in the strongest possible terms the unwarranted arrest of Ms. Jean Marie Ferraris by misguided elements of the Indonesian police, who apparently barged into a peaceful press conference being held after a training activity organized by our friends from Greenpeace,” Judy Pasimio of the LNRC said in the statement.

“We call on our government to act swiftly to effect the release of Ms. Ferraris and demand an immediate explanation from the Indonesian government. The new administration of Pres. Aquino must send a strong message to the international community that it is committed to protecting our citizens from abuses committed on foreign soil, even if it is by a foreign government,” she said.

“Jean was merely there to share the experience of our own partner communities who are also facing the threat of coal mining and environmental degradation from coal-fired power plants. She entered Indonesia legally and was attending a legitimate activity organized by an internationally-recognized environmental NGO. Her arrest and the arrest of the other participants was completely unjustified,” Pasimio said.

http://dateline.ph/?p=14234

By Dateline Philippines

Posted on Jul. 06, 2010 at 4:36pm