PETALING JAYA: One hundred and sixty civil society organisations have urged Miri-based timber company Samling Plywood to withdraw its lawsuit against an NGO, SAVE Rivers, and its board for defamation.
They sent a solidarity letter to Samling yesterday, one month before the start of the trial scheduled for May 15 at the Miri High Court.
At the same time, an international email petition has been launched for individuals who want to support the campaign.
Samling is suing SAVE Rivers for alleged defamatory statements with regards to consultations of local communities under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme.
It is seeking an apology, an injunction to stop the NGO from reporting community claims, and damages of RM5 million, about 45 times SAVE Rivers’ annual budget.
A joint statement by the The Borneo Project and Bruno Manser Fonds said those that signed the letter include international leaders on climate justice and the environment such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Netherlands.
They also include Malaysian human rights and conservation organisations such as Suaram, RimbaWatch, Freedom Film Network, and the Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy.
The Gerenai Community Rights Action Committee, uniting all communities within Samling’s Gerenai forest management unit, had also previously sent a separate letter of solidarity to the company.
It said most of the allegedly impugned articles that Samling deemed defamatory were the result of their pursuit for inclusivity, due information, and clarity.
The United Nations special rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders, and Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre have recognised that this suit may be classified as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP).
“It is SAVE Rivers’ defence that this suit by Samling is a SLAPP suit,” said Simon Siah, counsel for SAVE Rivers. - FMT
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