Human rights crisis in Sarawak, Hydro Tasmania culpable as Murum Dam floods

Huon Valley Environment Centre’s Jenny Weber said, “We are protesting today at Hydro Tasmania head office in Hobart, in solidarity with the indigenous people of Murum, Sarawak. Right now in Sarawak the dire consequences of the Government’s failure to uphold human rights are ensuing, as a humanitarian crisis occurs for the indigenous people of Murum. Flooding of Murum Dam begun last Saturday, while six out of seven villages remain in the region, and more than 100 Penan people blockade at the Murum dam site”.

“Hydro Tasmania is implicated by assisting Sarawak Energy, who is now flooding the lands of indigenous peoples at Murum, although most of the affected villagers have not been resettled and their demands not addressed. We have been informed that one Penan village was burnt down in a case of suspected arson by Sarawak Energy workers. The communities are reporting the loss of a number of fishing boats due to the impoundment. An estimated 1500 Penan and 80 Kenyah natives will lose their homes due to the Murum dam impoundment,” Jenny Weber said.

“The construction of Murum dam would not have been possible without support from Western engineers and managers. Hydro Tasmania, have staff secondments in Sarawak, including engineer Andrew Pattle who directed the Murum dam construction. Hydro Tasmania is responsible for the displacement of indigenous peoples from their traditional lands. We condemn Hydro Tasmania, as they continue to assist human rights violations and environmentally destructive practices in Sarawak,” Jenny Weber said.

“We are asking Hydro Tasmania and our Tasmanian Government to stop supporting the Sarawak Government in their oppression of indigenous people in Sarawak, stop implicating our state in this humanitarian crisis. As long as Tasmania assists the Sarawak regime they are culpable for assisting the Sarawak government’s human rights violations. People of Murum, Sarawak and International NGOs are calling for urgent intervention and an immediate stop of the Murum dam impoundment,” Jenny Weber said.

Impoundment of the Murum Dam commenced only days after Malaysian NGO Suaram[1] reported to the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights, about ongoing human rights violations of indigenous people in Sarawak, as a result of large scale extractive industries. At the United Nations, the Executive Director of Suaram, stated that in complete violation of the principle of prior and informed consent, which is enshrined in the UN declaration that Malaysia has signed up to: “With scarcely 5% of Sarawak’s rainforest remaining untouched, the state government is now strongly pursuing the multi-billion dollar “Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy”, an immense industrialization project comprising plans for a potential of 50 hydroelectric dams, vast palm oil plantations, smelter and mining projects. This means confiscation of vast tracts of native land, and carries severe impact on the lives and cultures of indigenous communities in Sarawak who will be displaced as a result. Despite the threat of irreparable harm to their lands and their survival as a people, the government has failed to gain their free, prior and informed consent. The true scale of SCORE is unknown due to a lack of government transparency and affected communities”.[2

Refs:
1 http://www.suaram.net/
2 http://www.sarawakreport.org/2013/09/sarawak-raised-at-un-while-adelaide-students-protest-against-taib/