Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Sept 16, 2009 – Malaysian police said Wednesday they had dismantled blockades constructed in the Borneo jungles by Penan tribespeople protesting against logging and plantations on their ancestral land. In a separate move police also arrested 17 people, including Penan and other indigenous groups, for mounting a demonstration against a proposed dam in Sarawak state on Malaysian Borneo which will force mass relocations. On August 20, hundreds of Penan armed with spears and blowpipes set up blockades in three locations in the Borneo interior, escalating their campaign against the destruction of their rainforest home. Jonathan Jalin, police chief in Marudi which administers the area, confirmed all three blockades had been removed. “We did not use any force. There was no resistance. We had negotiations with the locals. I intend to place some policemen at the blockade site for a few days to ensure security,” he told AFP. Penan chiefs say that after enduring decades of logging which has decimated the jungles they rely on for food and shelter, they now face the new threat of plantations which will destroy forest resources and pollute the rivers. …

Malaysian police tear down Penan tribe’s anti-logging blockades