URGENT REQUEST FOR HELP -- regarding use of Bt cotton in Indonesia
Please act on this request and then forward the below material to your own lists but use discretion as to which lists you send it to.
From: "Hira D.G." This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subject: Action alert on Bt cotton
Dear Ones,
We need you and your networks to help us flood the Indonesian government with letters to prevent the release of Bt cotton in Indonesia. THIS IS URGENT!
I realize I am asking you to send faxes and not emails; this is because time is short and faxes gain more attention. Thank you for understanding.
Below, please find a longer explanation, a newspaper article, and a sample letter to help you formulate your thoughts. Please feel free to add information or change the format of the letter. Please also ask other people to write letters.
Thanks and regards, Hira Jhamtani
Konphalindo
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INDONESIAN NGOS NEED YOUR HELP URGENTLY!!!
MONSANTO INTERVENTION MAKES IT A DEFENDANT IN THE INDONESIAN BT COTTON CASE, WHILE PESTS ATTACK THE BT COTTON AND EXPERT WITNESSES ARE OBJECTED TO
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Dear Friends,
The Indonesian NGO Coalition on Biosafety and Food Safety is urgently seeking your help and support to stop the commercial production of Monsanto's Bt cotton in Indonesia. Currently, the NGO coalition has launched legal actions against the Ministry of Agriculture Decree on the limited release of Monsanto's Bt cotton in South Sulawesi. The coalition, which consists of 72 NGOs has asked the State Administrative Court to revoke agriculture ministerial decree No.107/Kpts/KB.430/2/2001 -- the decree that allows a limited, one-year commercial production of Monsanto's Bt cotton (under the commercial name NuCOTN 35B) in seven regions of South Sulawesi. Our legal suit is based on the fact that the no biosafety tests have been made public, the farmers have not been informed of potential negative effects, and the NGO recommendation that risk assessment should be conducted by independent parties have been rejected.
The first court session was held on 21 June 2001, in which surprisingly, PT Monagro Kimia, the Indonesian subsidiary of Monsanto, wanted to be included as one the parties in the legal dispute. On June 19, Hutapea, Monsanto's lawyer, appealed for the right to intervene to become one of the disputing parties in the case. They cited the fact that the company has a stake in this case because: (a) it supplies the transgenic seeds, (b) it is a proponent of the Bollgard Bt cotton (c) if the ministerial decree is revoked, the company will be substantially disadvantaged. (This shows the close collusion between the Ministry of Agriculture and the company.) The court has granted this appeal and now Monsanto is one of the defendants, together with a dubious organisation called the Cotton Farmer Association, whose members are only 29 persons. So the court case now is the NGO coalition against three defendants - the Ministry of Agriculture, Monsanto and the Cotton Farmer Association. During the last court session on August 2, 2001, Monsanto objected to the international expert witnesses that the NGOs submitted to the judges. The decision will be made next week (August 9, 2001) whether the judges will allow foreign experts to testify.
Meanwhile, the two-month-old Bt cotton plants in Balleanging village, Ujungloe district in Bulukumba (South Sulawesi) are infested by spodotera (leaf damaging pest) and Helicoverpa armigera (boll damaging pest) as reported by the local newspaper Fajar, 17 June 2001. This proves the empty promises made in the beginning, when the company guaranteed that the Bt cotton is resistant to Helicoverpa armigera. In fact, the "resistance" characteristic was cited as the main reason for publishing the Ministerial decree mentioned above.
Indonesian NGOs will keep fighting the Bt cotton both inside and outside the court. During court sessions, farmer groups have been staging demonstrations against the transgenic cotton as well as appealing for a moratorium on the release of all transgenics into the environment. The court session is held every Thursday and the judges promised a speedy process as they consider this as a very serious social case that will affect the lives of numerous farmers.
THE NGO COALITION URGENTY NEED YOUR SUPPORT. PLEASE WRITE LETTERS ASKING FOR THE REVOCATION OF THE ABOVE MINISTERIAL DECREE, CITING AS MANY ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS AS POSSIBLE and CITING MONSANTO'S FREQUENT INTERFERENCE WITH THE POLICIES OF SOVEREIGN COUNTRIES.
WRITE TO:
President of the Republic of Indonesia
Madam Megawati Soekarnoputri Presidential Merdeka Palace Jl. Veteran No. 16, Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Fax: 62-21-34832557
Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Hamzah Haz Vice-Presidential Office Jl. Kebun Sirih No.14, Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Fax: 62-21-381010
Minister of Agriculture Jl. Harsono RM. No. 3, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta Selatan-Indonesia Fax: 62-21-78833066 Minister of Environment Kantor Menteri Negara Lingkungan Hidup Jalan D.I. Panjaitan, Jakarta -Indonesia Fax 62-21-8580101
Speaker of House of Representatives of Indonesia Mr. Akbar Tanjung Gedung DPR RI Jalan Gatot Soebroto, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Fax 62-21-57348046.
Governor of South Sulawesi Jl.Urip Sumoharjo No. 269 Makassar, 90232- Indonesia Fax: 62-0411-453489
Speaker of South Sulawesi House of Representatives Gedung DPRD Tk. I Sulawesi Selatan Jalan Urip Sumoharjo Makassar 90232 - Indonesia Fax: 62-411-453567
NOTE : INDONESIA'S NEW MINISTERS HAVE NOT BEEN NAMED; WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU WITH THE NAMES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Please send a notification once you have sent the letters to : Secretariat of NGO Coalition on Biosafety and Food Safety Jl. Kelapa Hijau No.99, Jagakarsa Jakarta 12620 INDONESIA Phone: 62-21-7873169 Fax: 62-21-7873169 e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Legal battle over biotech products kicks off
JAKARTA (JP): The start of what will likely be a long and arduous legal battle on genetically modified seeds began on Thursday when the State Administrative Court began hearing a suit filed by 72 non-governmental organizations seeking the striking down of Minister of Agriculture Decree No. 107/2001 allowing the use of the controversial products.
In the suit read out by a team of lawyers representing the NGO Coalition for Biosafety and Food Safety, it was charged that the decree was hastily issued without properly considering the possible consequences of the use of biotech products.
"It also went against the precautionary principle, which is fundamental in handling such products. The decree was also issued without considering advice and recommendations from relevant institutions and persons, such as the State Ministry of the Environment, the City Council, NGOs and experts in the field," the lawyers said.
The decree, issued on Feb. 7, allows the limited release of the genetically engineered cotton variety Bt DP 5690B as quality seed under the trade name NuCOTN 35B (Bollgard) in seven regencies in South Sulawesi -- Takalar, Gowa, Bantaeng, Bulukumba, Bone, Soppeng and Wajo.
The plantations have been developed under the guidance of PT Monagro Kimia, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Monsanto, the world's second largest seed-producing company and third largest agrichemical company. But lawyers representing the NGO Coalition said the issuance of the decree was merely a move by the Ministry of Agriculture to retrospectively legitimize past violations by Monagro. "Monagro has been distributing Bt cotton seeds since 1998, saying that they were only for trials. In fact, they were doing so for commercial purposes as may be deduced from the fact there were 868 growers involved who bought the seeds and sold the crops back to Monagro to be exported or distributed to local markets." The company, they claimed, had also violated the requirement to conduct an Environmental Impact Analysis (AMDAL), which to date had still not been carried out.
The NGOs also stated that on March 15, Monagro also imported other seeds directly from South Africa to Makassar, South Sulawesi, without giving the required notice, disguising the shipment as a "Logistics Depot (Dolog) Rice Shipment". But as lawyers for the NGO's read out the grounds of their action on Thursday, lawyers for Monagro, represented by lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, sought to be added as a defendant. "Since the case alludes to Monagro's good name, we've decided to intervene in the case. We want to prove that the suit filed by the NGOs is groundless," Hotman told The Jakarta Post. On the question of the environmental impact analysis, Hotman said the company was not obliged to do so as it was not the promoter of the project. "We're only the suppliers. The project promoters and developers are the growers. Besides, the total area of the project is only 500 hectares. In State Minister of the Environment Decree No. 3/2000, the minimum area requiring such an analysis is 5,000 hectares," he said. (hdn)
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Pests attack genetically modified cotton
SOURCE: The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
<http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20010629.A06
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20010629.A06
DATE: June 29, 2001
MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Hundreds of hectares of the genetically modified cotton fields at three villages in the regency of Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, have been destroyed by pests identified as Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera. However, officials dealing with the genetically modified cotton business said separately that there was "nothing to worry about."
Tri Soekirman, Corp. Communications manager of Monsanto, the supplier of the genetically modified cotton from South Africa, said here on Thursday that the pests were not dangerous. "They are just larva which eat the leaves, but will not disrupt cotton production," Tri told The Jakarta Post. He said that based on a survey made by his team, the population of the pests was still tolerable. "Therefore, pesticide is not necessary to eliminate them. The farmers know how to handle them."
On Wednesday in Bulukumba, the leader of the genetically modified cotton monitoring team, Ibrahim Manwa, voiced similar optimism that "the pest population is still at tolerable levels." He said 40 trees had been taken as samples from Balleanging village in Bulukumba. "Out of the 40 trees, less than seven were attacked by the pests. This means that the population of the pests is still very low," he said, showing dried cotton leaves which had been destroyed by Spodoptera. Ibrahim was in Bulukumba with the deputy head of the South Sulawesi Agriculture Office, Karya.
The controversy over genetically modified cotton started in early May this year when a total of 40 tons of Bollgard cotton seed belonging to U.S.- based Monsanto was imported by Jakarta-based PT Monagro Kimia. A number of activists have said that genetically modified products must be prohibited from directly entering the province, and demanded that such seeds be quarantined for detailed examination before being distributed to the farmers.
It was Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih who recommended the importation of the seed and its distribution to seven regencies in South Sulawesi. State Minister for the Environment Sonny Keraf criticized the decision.
In Bulukumba regency alone, the genetically modified cotton was planted on a total of 1,571.75 hectares, managed by 80 farmers' groups consisting of 2,003 families. At least 180 hectares of the cotton fields in the village of Balleanging, Ujungloe district, have been invaded by the pests. Local farmers said that the pests started attacking the cotton in mid-June. Many farmers have complained about the pests. They said the supplier had claimed that the cotton variety was resistant to all kinds of pests.
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Sample Text for a letter to fax to the Indonesian Government
Send to: President of the Republic of Indonesia Madam Megawati Soekarnoputri Presidential Merdeka Palace Jl. Veteran No. 16, Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Fax: 62-21-34832557
and: The Minister of Agriculture Jl. Harsono RM. No. 3, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta Selatan-Indonesia Fax: 62-21-7883-3066
with copies to: Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia (62-21-381-0104)
Minister of Environment (62-21-858-0101)
Governor of South Sulawesi (62-0411-453-489)
Speaker of House of Representatives Republic Indonesia (Fax 62-21-5734804
Speaker of South Sulawesi House of Representatives (Fax 62-411-453567)
August , 2001
Dear Minister of Agriculture:
We [your group/organizations name] share the concern of Indonesian NGOs about the agriculture ministerial decree No.107/Kpts/KB.430/2/2001 that allows a limited one year commercial production of Monsanto's Bt cotton (under the commercial name NuCOTN 35B) in seven regencies of South Sulawesi. We are concerned that the decree was issued without long-term, extensive and complete environmental and health studies in Indonesia. The issue of genetic engineering has become a major world wide debate at this point, particularly in terms of ecological and health impacts. We recognize Indonesia is a mega-biodiversity country whose genetic resources need to be protected for the welfare of its people. A hasty decision to plant genetically engineered crops may have an impact on that biodiversity. Although Indonesia is not the center of origin or the center of diversity for cotton, this action may set a precedent for the neglect of environmental risk assessment and management of future releases of genetically modified crops. We are also concerned about the social and economic impacts of planting crops that are monopolized by multinational companies such as Monsanto. We also have information about the behaviour of companies such as Monsanto that tries to unfairly influence national policies and judicial systems, while keeping many important scientific information secret from the public and from governments (CITE the situation in your country or that you know of)
Scientists worldwide have expressed concerns and critiques about the commercial production of GMO (genetically modified organism) crops for several reasons, mainly the environmental and health impacts. The following are potential environmental risks that have been scientifically documented, researched or discussed in areas using GMO's (CITE SOME SCIENTIFIC PAPERS):
- Contamination of local varieties with foreign genes that will prevent any possible recall of the GMO's should there be a problem noticed in the future
- Development of insect resistance to the bio-pesticide Bt, now widely used in organic agriculture
- Adverse effects to non-target insect species
- Adverse effects to non-target bird and mammal species
- Horizontal gene transfer to wild relatives
- Loss of plant bio-diversity
- The creation of super weeds (weeds that are resistant to herbicide)
- The creation of super insects (insects that have greater resistance to pesticides)
- Adverse effects on the composition of soil microorganisms in areas where GMO crops are grown
- Limited, if any, economic benefit to farmers who use GMO crops
- An increase in the amount of pesticides used
- Insufficient short and long term environmental testing on GMO crops
- Insufficient short long term environmental testing on GMO crops specifically in the Tropics
- All the present data from company research is unavailable to the general public
- The total lack of environmental assessment of GMO crops in Indonesia
- Conversion of food growing areas to cash-crops
- Cause and inability to grow truly organic food
- Crop failures such as with Monsanto's Round Up* Ready Cotton products, as seen in USA.
- Lack of clarity as to who is legally responsible in the case of adverse environmental effects from the crops
- Growers of GMO crops in Indonesia have not been informed of the potential risks outlined in this list
[List other environmental concerns]
Further concerns include the detrimental effects and potential impacts on human health, including:
- An increase in antibiotic resistance to consumers of GMO Crops
- An increase in allergic reactions to consumers of GMO Crops, and death due to these reactions
- Insufficent short and long term health testing on GMO crops
- Insufficent short and long term health testing on GMO fed livestock products
- Indonesians are more like likely to consume products that are used for livestock feed in other countries where GMO's are produced
- No specific health test have been done on Indonesians in relation to the consumption of GMO crops
- Consumers have the right to know and chose whether to consume GMO products
- The inadvertent creation of super viruses and new viruses
- The potential decrease in nutritional value of GMO products
- The lack of consensus among scientists that GMO products are safe for human consumption
- The lack of clarity about who is legally responsible for any adverse health effects
- The lack of notice to consumers about any of the potential health effects outlined in this list
[List other human health concerns]
We understand that the Bt cotton release has been disputed by a coalition of Indonesian NGOs in the Indonesian State Administrative Court. We realize this is a decision for the Indonesian legal system to finalize and we are pleased to see that events surrounding this court case are being noted internationally. We are confident that the Indonesian government will consider the health and well being of its people as well as the preservation of its internationally recognized, unique natural environment.
But the issue of genetic engineering cannot be settled in the courts only. We would recommend that independent researchers complete long term ecological and health impact studies and that all the data and results are made public to the people of Indonesia before your government passes any legislation of this type. We would be more than happy to supply you with more information on this issue.
Thank you for you consideration of our support
Signed: [Group/Organization and Contact information]
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