Villagers from 30 settlements, in opposing the construction of the RM4 billion Baram hydroelectric dam, celebrated their 500th day of manning their blockades yesterday.

 

 “We have become more resolute and determined to stop the project as its construction will submerge some 38,900 hectares of our ancestral land, including 26 longhouses and villages,” said one of their leaders, Anyie Eng.

 

He added more than 20,000 from the native communities would have to relocate elsewhere, where they faced a grim and uncertain future, if the dam is built.

 

“We will continue with the blockades for as long as it takes to defend our rights,” said Anyie during the 500th day celebration.

 

The blockaders, he said, had evicted workers who were carrying out the preparatory works for the proposed dam and their machinery from the dam site.

 

“Right from the beginning, we erected two blockades at a location between Long Keseh and Long Na’ah, manned by villagers from all over the Baram basin,” he said.

 

No approval sought

 

Meanwhile, the chairperson of Save Rivers Sarawak, Peter Kallang, said that preparatory works which included geological surveys, construction of access roads, and preparation of quarry facilities had triggered the blockades.

 

The works were carried out although the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not completed, nor was approval sought from the land owners of the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land that were used for the works, he said.

 

“The NCR lands belong to the villagers who are angered by the unethical conduct of the dam builders especially the intrusions into their land and farms,” he said.

 

Peter said that besides the preparatory works, logging companies were still rushing to harvest the timber in Ulu Baram in anticipation of the Baram dam project.

 

The blockaders have been confronted by these companies and their representatives who claimed to have legitimate logging permits for normal logging activities, he said.

 

On top of that, challenges were also given by the Sarawak Forestry Department and armed police personnel who for a period stationed their officers at the blockade site in Long Keseh and forcefully took down the road barrier.

 

The barricade at Long Keseh was taken down by the loggers and forestry officers 12 times within the last 500 days and each time this happened, the blockaders put them up again, said Peter.

 

Accusing the forest department of supporting the logging activities, Anyie said: “As the forestry department is a government body, they should serve with integrity.

 

He said they allowed the exploited the timber of the natives and even used their own personnel to remove the road barriers that the natives set up to protect their land.

 

Anyie said that he and his group from Na’ah and Long Keseh had filed a lawsuit in Miri against the government over these issues regarding their native land.