Corrupt Indonesian officials exposed!

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October 15, 2005

 

Officials caught in animal trading: NGOs

 

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

 

A network of wildlife protection groups will report three

high-ranking officials from the Jakarta's Natural Resources

Conservation Agency to the police for their alleged involvement in

the trade of protected animals.

 

The activists announced on Friday that they had sufficient evidence

to file the report.

 

The network comprises the People's Information Center (Lira),

Profauna Indonesia, the Animal Advocacy Group (LASA), the Indonesian

Society for Animal Welfare (ISAW) and the Alliance for Indonesian

Wildlife (AuSI).

 

" We have gathered the evidence for over a year. Usually, they raid

animal markets or pet shops, and confiscate protected animals.

Instead of handing over the animals to the state, they sell them

abroad at high prices, " Lira chairman Yusuf Rizal told The Jakarta Post.

 

The activists revealed that they have documentation taken with a

hidden video camera that shows the three officials extorting a pet

shop owner in North Jakarta, demanding Rp 15 million from the owner

and threatening to close the shop for selling protected animals if he

does not pay up.

 

The officials later took away 24 turtles from the shop and then sold

them to buyers for Rp 15 million on the same day. The transaction

took place behind their office in Salemba, Central Jakarta.

 

" We will report them to the police on Monday. We will submit all of

our evidence, including the video, " Yusuf said.

 

Yusuf suspected that the three officials had sold many protected

animals to local and international markets as they had been involved

in trading protected animals for years.

 

" It is a very profitable business. An orangutan, for instance, can be

sold for up to US$15,000 if it is sold in Hong Kong, Thailand,

Singapore, or Japan. But, collectors from the U.S. will pay $45,000, " he said.

 

According to the investigation conducted by Lira, between 10 to 20

orangutans were smuggled each month from Kalimantan through Jakarta

and other big cities to several countries in Asia and Europe as well

as in the U.S.

 

Several NGOs have expressed concerns over the increasing level of

smuggling of various protected animals.

 

According to ProFauna, illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia is

estimated to involve Rp 9 trillion a year.

 

They complained that many protected animals in the country will face

extinction in the near future unless the government gave sufficient

attention to the problems.

 

ProFauna pointed out, for instance, that at least 1,000 turtles were

slaughtered each year along the southern coast of Java island while

hundreds of cockatoos in Seram island were sent illegally to Jakarta

for trading.

 

Article 21 of Law No. 5/1990 on endangered animals stipulates that

any individual who buys and sells protected animals faces a maximum

punishment of five years in prison or a Rp 100 million fine.

 

Despite many complaints and sufficient laws, Jakarta Police seem to

be very passive in this regard as they just wait for reports without

any efforts to launch a special investigation, as seen from the zero

cases they have handled so far this year.

 

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman

International Primate Protection League

PO Box 766

Summerville, SC 29484, USA

Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988

 

E-mail - smcgreal, Web: www.ippl.org

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