Simultaneous action writing letters to the President to save Meratus

People in Central Hulu Sungai write a letter to the Presiden to save Meratus Mountains from mining. (Antaranews Kalsel/M. Taupik Rahman)

The written letters will be collected and will be submitted to the President of the Republic of Indonesia,

Barabai, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - In order to save the Meratus Mountains, people in Central Hulu Sungai (HST) held a joint action to write a letter to the President on Sunday (3/17) in Dwi Warna Field, Barabai.

The spokesman for the action Nursiwan or familiarly called Incus said the activity was a form of concern for the preservation of nature by inviting park visitors to write letters together.

They wrote requests, complain, and anxiety about environmental damage caused by mining.

The same action was carried out simultaneously in all cities and districts in South Kalimantan followed by people from various parts of Indonesia, such as Yogya, Malang, Surabaya, Tangerang to Papua.

Even the people who care about Meratus who live abroad, such as in Melbourne (Australia), Taichung (Taiwan) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) are taking part in similar actions.

In Banjarmasin the action was carried out at Siring Menara Pandang, Banjarbaru in Dr Murjani Field, Tapin at Dwi Dharma Field, Tanah Laut at Kijang Mas Permai Green Open Space Pelaihari, Balangan at Green Park, Tabalong at Tanjung Expo Center Mabu'un, HSU at Pahlawan Field Amuntai, Yogya on the sidewalk in front of the Agung Building to the south.

"The written letters will be collected and will be submitted to the President of the Republic of Indonesia," he said.

He stressed, however, and whatever happened, the documents must be submitted to President Joko Widodo.

During this time, he pointed out, the #SaveMeratus movement which was supported by many parties seemed not to get real support from the parties who had the authority.

The action of writing letters is part of the #SaveMeratus Movement which took place since December 2017. This movement was triggered by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources which issued Decree number 441.K/30/DJB/2017 on December 4, 2017 concerning adjusting the stage of PKP2B activities to the production stage to PT Mantimin Coal Mining (MCM). The permit covers 3 regions, namely Tabalong, Balangan, and Central Hulu Sungai.

The HST people, which has long denied the existence of large-scale coal mining and oil palm plantations, reacted to refusing the permit.

The reaction of the community received support from various parties, from NGOs, local government, academics, humanists to ordinary people.