Police disband Greenpeace environmental campaign in Cirebon, Indonesia

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post 5 Jul 10;

Cirebon Police on Monday disbanded an environmental campaign hosted by Greenpeace, which they said lacked a permit, questioning fifteen international and local environmentalists about the activity.

“We’ve been questioned for about five hours so far. There are 13 international activists, including from Thailand and China, and two locals,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Arif Fiyanto.

At the time of writing, the activists were still in detention.

Arif said he was disappointed at the police, saying the reaction had been an “exaggeration”.

“The officers act beyond common sense. We are here to educate local people and fishermen regarding to a construction of a coal-fired power plant in Kanci. They have lost their jobs since the power plant was built.

“We did not commit any crimes,” he said.

Cirebon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edi Mardianto confirmed the investigation, but declined to comment further.

Greenpeace was scheduled to hold campaigns against the usage of coal, from Saturday to Monday in Cirebon.