DAVAO CITY, Philippines—A Filipina environmental activist was detained in Indonesia after joining a training with 13 other members of international nongovernment organizations in the state of West Java in Indonesia.

The Filipina activist, Jean Marie Ferraris, 45, is the team leader of the Davao Regional Office of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan or LRC and convener of the local environmental group Panalipdan-Southern Mindanao.

An e-mail sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer by Judy Pasimio, executive director of LRC, said Ferraris and the 13 other activists were arrested Monday while they were conducting a press conference, right after their training on the impact of coal plants on the environment and local communities.

The arrest was conducted by some 100 Indonesian police officers who were reportedly accompanied by representatives of the coal power plant operated by Cirebon Elektrik Power Ltd.

Ferraris flew to Indonesia on July 1.

“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,” said Pasimio.

LRC is a legal and policy research NGO known for its work on indigenous peoples rights and natural resources issues.

“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 were completely unjustified,” Pasimio said.

“Clearly Indonesia still hasn’t completely shrugged off its authoritarian past. This latest episode evokes the time of Suharto when the coercive power of the state, through the police and the military were used to sow terror and choke democratic space. This abusive behavior has no place in a supposedly democratic country,” Pasimio added.

“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 President 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,” Pasimio said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100706-279546/Filipino-activist-among-13-arrested-by-Indonesian-cops

http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5812:local-activists-cry-foul-over-arrest-of-pinoy-ngo-worker-in-indonesia&catid=62:southeast-asia-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=84

By Jeffrey M. Tupas

Inquirer Mindanao First Posted 19:19:00 07/06/2010 Filed Under: Environmental Issues , Environmental Politics