· The activity was a Coal Campaign Skillshare organized by the anti-coal community in Cirebon, in West Java, Indonesia with the support of Greenpeace International. Apart from members of the community, thirteen (13) other participants from the Philippines, Thailand, China also joined the activity. The objective of this training was to bring together people from different parts of the region to share their experiences  in their respective countries particularly on the deadly impact of coal and their own learnings from their respective anti-coal campaigns.

· The Cirebon community hosting the activity has been engaged in an ongoing campaign against a coal company operated by Cirebon Electrik Power Ltd, a consortium of Japanese, Korean and Indonesian investors, which they claim is damaging their environment and has caused loss of livelihood in the area.

· Ms. Jean Marie Ferraris, team leader of the Davao Regional Office of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center Kasama sa Kalikasan Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC-KsK/FOEI-Phils.) and company arrived in Indonesia on July 1. July 5, day of the arrests was the last day of the training. The community and the representatives from the Philippines, Thailand and China were holding a press conference to launch a region-wide manifesto calling for an end to the expansion of coal power in Asia.

· At around 2 pm when the press conference was almost over, around 100 Indonesian police came and arrested the foreign participants of the training. They were herded off to the Cirebon police station, initially for alleged visa irregularities. After that allegation was disproved, the police accused them of engaging in activities that caused “instability”. Their interrogation lasted through the night during which they had very little sleep or rest. The following morning, without filing any charges, the police turned them over to the Immigration authorities, who also dragged their feet in resolving the issue.

· The activists were finally released at around 10 pm last night, July 6 and were told they were being subjected to “monitored deportation” which means they will all be escorted by Immigration officials until they board their planes and depart for their home countries. Monitored deportation means their passports will not get the “red stamp” which would have meant a ban on their future entry into Indonesia.