Dear Friends

Here with the detail information regarding Pondok Tanggui Orangutan Rehabilitation Post occupation by the villager that reported by Drh. Herlin Rangkuti.

May 9 2002

At 15.00 we got information from a villager from Tanjung Harapan that some villagers would take over Pondok Tanggui on May 10 2002 because there is no progress action from government about their claim.

At 18.30 we got information from villager from Tanjung Harapan that some villagers would take over Pondok Tanggui and Camp Leakey. They asked everybody out from the post.

At 19.00 we reported it to Drh. Abdul Muin the park officer about this information.

May 10

At 07.00 we got a report from our staff at Pondok Tanggui that there were 30 villagers already there Lead by Yusup, Satri and Syahrum. They asked us to move out from the post until they got what they claim.

At 11.30 Drh. Abdul Muin called us and asked to prepare the boat. Seven of the park staff would go to the post to negotiate with the villagers.

At 13.00 Birute Galdikas with 5 policemen and 40 people from Pasir Panjang along with 2 French TV Crew ( Heroes Nature ). She spoke with the villager and promise to help them to solve the problem.

Thirty minutes later the park's staff arrive at Pondok Tanggui and tried to ask the villager to let our staff and the park staff still stay there but they refused.

At 16.00 Birute's group left Pondok Tanggui to Camp Leaky.

At 16.15 all FNPF staff and the park's staff who work with us for the reforestation project moved from Pondok Tanggui to Kumai. We brought Adung and Lady to Kumai.

At 20.00 Everybody arrived at Kumai. We drop all of the equipment at our office and transfer Adung and Lady to Ainun's house ( the baby sitter )

Today we get information that no villager occupy Camp Leaky and all OFI Staff still work as usual. The villagers who occupied Pondok Tanggui said they will start to cut the wood at Pondok Tanggui if there is no respond from the government.

Beside the above mentioned problem when we back from re-planted seedling at Pondok Tanggui with the high school student and the park staff, we saw there were 6 boats pulled more than 1000 logs between Pondok Tanggui and Tanjung Harapan. The logs were Meranti ( Red Wood ), Nyantuh and Lanan. All of these wood could not be found outside of the park area so we could say all of the wood were came from the park. There were no police at all while it happened. All of the police went back to the town one day before the logger pulled the log ???

I am sorry to tell you this news and nothing we can do except try to ask the villager not to do it event we know they won't listen to us. I hope local government, police department and the park management could do something about it.

Sincerely yours,

Drh I Gede Nyoman Bayu Wirayudha
Director of FNPF.