Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 21:12:55 -0500


Dear World,

The latest news from Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, is really sad..... Before the "May Revolution" Suharto's laws were very strict to keep the forest from looters and just give the chance to his own gang of thieves. Now during the finance crisis and after Suharto went down, everybody seems no longer scared of law and police anymore. People are coming into the park with support of corrupt government people and police/army and looting badly the national parks.

The "Boss Gelondong" - the Log Boss, are controling everything with their money. Most of them come from outside Kalimantan. They take logs, Orangutan, Proboscis Monkeys, Birds, everything, and they sell them to whoever will pay high.......

The illegal loggers are even using the scientists and rangers facilities in Pondok Tangguy, Natai lengkuas and Camp Leakey for releasing the stolen logs from the forest. They are not scared anymore of the rangers who have no rifles. Last For the last 2-3 months it's become very difficult to find Orangutans in this park, because they are already hiding deep inside the forest, and the areas outside national parks are being destroyed even worst.....

Please pass this message to people that you think can help to save the Orangutan in Kalimantan right now, especially in Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan.

They could build up international attention to push Indonesia government to do something about this bad situation and perhaps even get someone to send a fact finding team, but, most of all, it's very important to take urgently needed direct action to save the Orangutan......!

Please send the letter to:
MENTERI KEHUTANAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA
C/o. Gedung Manggala Wanabakti
Senayan - Jakarta
Indonesia
 

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