[asia-apec 117] STILL URGENT - BAKUN - ABB - SIGN ON

[SUARAM by way of daga <daga at hk.super.net>]

We received this appeal for more signatures, especially from Asia. 
Please respond directly to: <gwitness at gn.apc.org>
Thank you.

Mario Mapanao

URGENT - ACTION STILL REQUIRED
RE:  ABB and the BAKUN HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT

Dear friends,

We have delayed sending this fax to ABB because the press in Malaysia
and Switzerland were informed on 10th September that the signing of the
contract has been postponed to 30th September.  The reason given by
Ekran was that the Prime Minister of Malaysia, who was scheduled to
witness the signing, had to go overseas on an official visit.

Many thanks to all of you who responded so quickly to our previous
alert!  It is particularly important that we collect as many signatures
as possible prior to the signing date in order to give ABB a clear
message that opposition is widening.  Consequently, we're extending the
deadline for endorsements to 25th September.  Please circulate this as
widely as you can.  However a swift reply would be very much appreciated
because it is possible that the signing may take place before 30th
September.

Please note that the letter has been amended slightly.  If you have
already signed up, please let us know only if you wish to withdraw your
name, otherwise we will assume that you are happy with this revised
version.

IF YOU ARE WILLING TO SIGN ON TO THIS, PLEASE COULD YOU EMAIL OR FAX
YOUR NAME, ORGANISATION AND COUNTRY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO GLOBAL
WITNESS, BY WEDNESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER AT THE VERY LATEST.  Email:
gwitness at gn.apc.org   Fax:  +44 181 563 8613

The fax will be sent to ABB headquarters and also, with a press release,
to European, Malaysian and international media.

With best wishes,

Patrick McCully                 James Lochhead  Monique Baker
International Rivers Network    KEHMA-S         Global Witness

The fax reads:


Mr Percy Barnevik
CEO, ABB Asea Brown Boveri AG
P.O. Box 8131
8050 Zrich

September 30, 1996

Re: Bakun Hydroelectric Project in Sarawak, Malaysia


Dear Mr Barnevik,

We are deeply disappointed to learn that ABB is planning to sign a
contract on Monday 30th September with Ekran Berhad for its part in
constructing the highly controversial Bakun Hydroelectric Project. As
you know, the project will have severe effects on people (including the
more than 9,000 indigenous people to be forcibly resettled) and the
environment. You will also know that the recent delay in the signing of
the contract came about because of a Malaysian High Court decision which
found Ekran and the federal and Sarawak state governments in breach of
Malaysian legislation regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment
process. In particular, the rights of the indigenous peoples within the
project area were deemed to have been severely infringed. We are
disappointed that the letter from ABB dated September 3rd in reply to
the NGO letter of July 2nd does not address this issue.

Since the legal appeal made by Ekran and others has not yet been heard,
perhaps you can explain to the indigenous peoples, all other Malaysians,
shareholders of ABB, to us and to the world at large why it is that ABB
is signing a contract to participate in a project which at this moment
is so clearly in breach of standards of procedure that ought to be
respected. Why is ABB endorsing the illegitimacy of the way in which the
Bakun Hydroelectric Project has been planned? Why is ABB disregarding
the decision of the Court and colluding in abusing the rights of the
affected indigenous peoples? Why is ABB not at least waiting for the
appeal to be heard and then reviewing its involvement in the project
thereafter?

ABB's action in hurrying to sign the contract is a disreputable one.
This letter is an expression of the widespread disappointment felt
around the world over ABB's planned action. The negative social and
environmental effects of the project are certain to be extensive.
Moreover, the economic viability of the project is in serious doubt.
Despite promises to the contrary, the cost of Bakun's electricity is
already projected to be the highest in Malaysia's history.

Participating in the Bakun project, especially while the legal issues
remain unresolved, will irreversibly tarnish ABB's reputation. We urge
you not to sign the contract.

Yours sincerely,


Signatures obtained to date:

Aviva Imhof, AID/WATCH, Australia
Anja Light, Rainforest Information Centre, Australia
Brigitte Parnigoni, Friends of the Earth, Austria
KEHMA-S (European Committee for Human Rights in Malaysia & Singapore),
 Belgium
Sian Pettman, FERN, Belgium
Alejandro Argumedo, Cultural Survival, Canada
John Thibodeau, Probe International, Canada
Martin Arnould, SOS Loire Vivante, France
Roberto A. Epple, European Rivers Network, France
Reinhard Behrend, Rettet den Regenwald, Germany
Hermann Edelmann, Pro REGENWALD, Germany
Peter Franke, Suedostasien Informationsstelle, Germany
Sylvia Hamberger, Gesellschaft fr kologische Forschung, Germany
Bernhard Henselmann & Sascha Timm, Artists for Nature, Germany
Wolfgang Kuhlmann, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Regenwald und Artenschutz,
Germany
Christoph Meyer, Robin Wood, Germany
Heffa Schucking, Urgewald, Germany
Katrin Seifert, EURONATURE, Germany
Barbara Unmussig, WEED, Germany
Mario Mapanao, Documentation for Action Groups in Asia, Hong Kong
Shripad Dharmadhikary, Narmada Bacaho Andolan (Struggle to Save The
 Narmada River), India
Francesco Martone, Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale, Italy
Kazuko Matsue, Shinrin Renmei (Forest Association), Japan
Gaku Takayama, Sarawak Campaign Committee, Japan
Carlos Heredia, Equipo Pueblo, Mexico
Nina Drolsum, FIVAS, Norway
Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama
sa Kalikasan (LRC-KSK/Friends of the Earth), Philippines
Liddy B. Nacpil, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines
Al Santos, Asian Council for People's Culture, Philippines
Isagani Serrano, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, Philippines
Katarina Bjork & Ola Larsson, Faltbiologerna, Sweden
Kristina Bjurling, Action 21/ PeaceQuest, Sweden
Nils Hannerz, Fair Trade Center, Sweden
Susanne Lindberg, Social democratic Students of Sweden
Jenny Lundstrom, Friends of the Earth, Sweden
Peter Bosshard, Berne Declaration, Switzerland
Lennart Nyman, WWF, Sweden
Monica Borner, WWF, Switzerland
Roger Graf, Bruno Manser Fund, Switzerland
Monique Baker, Global Witness, UK
George Gelber, Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, UK
Douglas Gibbs, Oxford Forestry Institute, UK
Jo Hamilton, Lloyds and Midland Boycott Campaign, UK
Nicholas Hildyard, The Ecologist, UK
Sophie Mustapha, Sarawak Solidarity Campaign, UK
Lekara Nwinia, MOSOP, UK
Saskia Ozinga, FERN, UK
Louise Platt, Empowering Widows in Development, UK
Sue Tibballs, Women's Communication Centre, UK
Sarah Tyack, Friends of the Earth, England, Wales & Northern Ireland
Stuart Wilson, Forests Monitor, UK
Dr Kate Young, WOMANKIND Worldwide, UK
Mark Dubois, WorldWise, USA
Amy Fedde, Colorado Group Against Bakun Dam, USA
Jo Marie Griesgraber, Centre of Concern, USA
Pharis J. Harvey, International Labor Rights Fund, USA
Randall Hayes, Rainforest Action Network, USA
Jason Hunter, Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable
Development, USA
Tim Keating, Rainforest Relief, USA
Orin Langelle & Anne Petermann, Native Forest Network, USA
Alexis Latham & John Clark, Friends of Nitassinan, USA
Patrick McCully, International Rivers Network, USA
Timothy J. McGloin, Friends of the Filipino People, USA
Colin Rajah, Overseas Development Network, USA
Dr George J. Aditjondro, Deparment of Sociology & Anthropology,
 Newcastle University, Australia
Elizabeth Brady, Canada
Joanna Fuller, UK
Elizabeth Goggins, US Virgin Islands
Professor Jane Kelsey, Law Faculty, Auckland University, New Zealand
Duncan Kennedy, USA
Chris Lang, UK
Avonice Martin, US Virgin Islands
Jerome Rousseau, Professor, Department of Anthropology, McGill
University, Montreal, Canada
Mutang Urud, Canada
Dr Weiluo Wang, Department Of Spatial Planning, University of Dortmund,
Germany