|
News update:
Indonesian
Children welcome the news of the return of 54 orangutans from Thailand
24th
April 2006
Following assurances that the Thai government will be returning Indonesia’s
stolen orangutans to the forests from which they had been smuggled,
ProFauna Indonesia activists and a group of Indonesian children plan to
present flowers as part of a demonstration outside the Royal Thai Embassy in
Jakarta. The flowers represent a symbolic gesture of peace and hope for the
return of the 54 orangutans to Indonesia.
 After
more than two years of prolonged investigations, diplomatic negotiations,
protests and legal battles, 54 out of more than 100 smuggled orangutans that
are still alive finally are finally going to be returned to their homelands in
Indonesia. DNA testing proved that the orangutans originated from Kalimantan
and that fewer than 12 could have been bred in captivity. The orangutans were
exploited to entertain tourists in cruel ape boxing shows at Safari World
Bangkok.
Pin
Kewkacha, the owner of Safari World, has admitted that over half of the 114
orangutans inventoried in his zoo have “died”. A free man since it was ruled
that there was insufficient evidence or witnesses for legal action to be taken
against him, he is now involved in developing a Night Safari project in Chiang
Mai.
ProFauna
Indonesia has been staging a number of protests in front of the Thai Embassy
Jakarta, demanding the return of the orangutans. Orangutans are highly
endangered and a protected species. Both Indonesia and Thailand are members
of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora), an organisation that prohibits the unlicensed movement of
endangered species between countries, let alone their illegal smuggling and
subsequent callous exploitation for money.
Ongoing
discussions between CITES and the authorities from Malaysia, Thailand,
Indonesia and various experts with pressure from NGOs has finally resulted in
a decision to repatriate the apes. The Thai Government announced in the press
conferences on 18th and 21st April that the orangutans
are to be returned to Indonesia within 4 weeks.
|
