Take action: Free the GAIA 3!

Dear Friend,

Please take action for the immediate and unconditional release of colleagues and friends Gigie, Neil and Shibu from the Indonesian police department where they are being detained after taking part in a peaceful community demonstration against incineration and for climate justice. Please demand that their human rights are fully restored and that they are permitted to travel to Bali. You can take action immediately by visiting: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1843/t/4860/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21899

The details are below:

Dear Friends,

We write to request GAIA members and friends across the globe to seek the immediate and unconditional release of the following international activists who were detained on 1 December 2007 in Bandung, Indonesia:

1. Gigie Cruz, GAIA, Philippines
2. Neil Tangri, GAIA, USA
3. Shibu Nair, Thanal, India

(please see their brief profiles below)

Gigie, Neil and Shibu arrived in Indonesia last Saturday, 1 December, to campaign for "Zero Waste for Zero Warming" at the UN Framework on Climate Change Conference that will take place in Bali on 3-14 December. Balifokus, Jala-Sampah (Garbage Network) and GAIA are planning to convene a civil society forum tomorrow on waste and climate.

Before heading to Bali, Gigie, Neil and Shibu traveled first to Bandung City to take part in a peaceful community people's assembly against a proposed waste incinerator. This event was organized by several Indonesian environmental groups campaigning for climate justice. The activity, which drew the warm support of over 2,000 community members, also formed part of the GAIA Global Day of Action against Waste and Incineration.

At the rally, Gigie, Neil and Shibu spoke about the ill effects of incinerating waste, advocated for Zero Waste and conveyed their solidarity with the local campaign against incineration and for environmental health and justice. They did not attack the Indonesian government in their statements before the assembly.

After their well-applauded speeches, the police accosted them, together with our Indonesian colleagues Yuyun Ismawati, who is the Executive Director of Balifokus, and Roni Tabroni, from the People's Alliance against the WTE (waste-to-energy) Plant. The five activists were then brought to the police station where they underwent lengthy interrogation. The police also seized their passports. Yuyun and Roni were subsequently released, but Gigie, Neil and Shibu are currently detained in a police station in Jalan Jaya (or Jaya Street) in Bandung.

There are no formal charges yet against Gigie, Neil and Shibu, but there is an expressed threat of deportation if our Indonesian friends do not succeed in persuading the authorities to set them free and let them fly to Bali for the UNFCC events.

TAKE ACTION: We call on you to please register your concern and appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of Gigie, Neil and Shibu, so that their human rights are fully restored and that they are permitted to travel to Bali.

1. Please visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1843/t/4860/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21899 to quickly e-mail a letter about this issue to Mr. Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC Secretariat at secretariat@unfccc.int, H.E. Mr. Rachmat Witoelar, State Minister for the Environment at rachmat@witoelar.com, and the National Police Chief, Mr. Gen. Sutano, at kapolri@polri.go.id and polri@polri.go.id.

2. Please immediately CALL/FAX the Indonesian Embassy / Consulate in your city or country (find embassies here: http://id.embassyinformation.com/; in the U.S. you can also use the following email form: http://www.embassyofindonesia.org/detail/contactus.php)

3. Please CALL/FAX the Bandung Police Department (+6222-4204666, foreign affairs unit) and/or E-MAIL the National Police Chief, Mr. Gen. Sutano, at kapolri@polri.go.id and polri@polri.go.id

In your message, please
1) Register your concern and appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of Gigie Cruz, Neil Tangri, and Shibu Nair
2) Request that their human rights are fully restored and
3) Request that they are permitted to travel to Bali.

Terima kasih banyak-banyak (Thank you very much) for your immediate response.

Sincerely yours,

Manny C. Calonzo
GAIA Secretariat
Unit 330, Eagle Court, Quezon City, Philippines
TelFax: +632-4364733
E-Mail: mannyc@no-burn.org
Web: www.no-burn.org

Brief information about those detained:

1. Gigie Cruz, GAIA's Assistant Coordinator, has been working with GAIA since 2001 in various capacities, including membership, campaign and information support. Her most recent task was to coordinate last week's Global Day of Action against Waste and Incineration.

2. Neil Tangri is one of GAIA's esteemed founders. He wrote the GAIA report "Waste Incineration: A Dying Technology." He recently rejoined GAIA to coordinate our work on waste-to-energy and climate change)

3. Shibu Nair was part of the 3-person team from the global south who went to California for GAIA's first Zero Waste fellowship. He works closely with Jayan, a GAIA Steering Committee member from India. Shibu was part of the Thanal team who hosted the Waste Not Asia Meeting held in January 2007 in Trivandrum, Kerala