Over 100 Groups Demand Firm Withdraw Suit Against Save Rivers

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More than 100 organisations have demanded that the logging subsidiaries of Samling Group Sdn Bhd withdraw its RM5 million defamation suit against environmental NGO Save Rivers, according to rights groups Bruno Manser Fund and The Borneo Project.
They said a letter was sent today to the Samling Group asking the timber giant to withdraw its legal suit against Save Rivers and its board members.
“Samling was also asked to provide the communities of its Gerenai and Ravenscourt concessions in Sarawak’s Baram and Limbang region with all of the environmental and social impact assessments conducted for certification by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)-endorsed Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme,” read a joint statement today.
The signatories believed the suit was strategic litigation against public participation (Slapp) and a growing international trend of silencing human rights and environmental defenders, they added. 
The signatories comprised international and local organisations including All Women's Action Society (Awam), Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Siti Kasim & Associates and Third World Network, among others.
Earlier this month, Malaysiakini reported that logging subsidiaries Samling Plywood (Miri) Sdn Bhd and Samling Plywood (Baramas) Sdn Bhd filed a civil action over seven articles uploaded on the Save Rivers' portal between June 23 last year and March 10 this year.
The plaintiffs refuted allegations made in the articles over the sustainability and certification of Samling’s logging operations in Sarawak, claiming that they were issued valid forest timber licences by the Sarawak government.
The suit named Save Rivers Sdn Bhd, the group’s chairperson Peter Kallang, and activists Mark Bujang, Thomas Jalong Apoi, and Caroline Mbang Nyurang, as the five defendants.

Save River's Peter Kallang
In June, the Penan and Kenyah communities of the Baram and Limbang rivers reportedly lodged official complaints to the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) dispute resolution committee, which opened a case to try to resolve the conflicts between Samling Group and indigenous communities.
The Bruno Manser Fund and several other international and local NGOs claimed that Samling demonstrated a lack of good faith by subsequently filing the defamation suit, resulting in the MTCC withdrawing its invitation to hold any discussion pending resolution of the suit.
The coalition contested that Save Rivers had merely reported on the community resistance on Samling’s logging concessions and was not the entity to file the complaints.
“This unprecedented move begs the question, did Samling file the suit in order to disrupt the dispute resolution process and avoid accountability?
“We request Samling to stop legal action and engage in meaningful dialogue. As a first step, all necessary documents required for free prior informed consent need to be released, such as the full environmental and social impact assessments, including the high conservation value assessment for their logging concessions,” said Bruno Manser Fund executive director Lukas Straumann.
In their letter to Samling Group chief executive officer Yaw Chee Ming, they demanded the Slapp suit be dropped and for the timber firm to release all relevant project documentation, as well as engage in meaningful consultations with local communities about their lands. - Mkini

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