Penan organiser Komeok Joe and anti-dam activist Peter Kallang honoured for their commitment to the protection of Sarawak’s rainforests and defending indigenous rights. Pic taken from FMT News.
PETALING JAYA: Switzerland has honoured two Sarawak activists with the Bruno Manser Prize for Moral Courage.
They were Komeok Joe and Peter Kallang, the Bruno Manser Fund announced in a statement today.
The prize is named after rainforest activist Bruno Manser and honours personalities who have proven moral courage in defending the environment and human rights.
Komeok Joe and Peter Kallang are the first to receive the new award and were chosen for their outstanding commitment in defending indigenous rights in Sarawak, the press release said.
Komeok Joe, member of Malaysia’s indigenous peoples network Joas, was honoured for his struggle to defend the rights of the Penan.
Since the late 1980s, he had been working to protect Sarawak’s remaining primary forests and for the acknowledgement of the land rights of the Penan.
Peter Kallang, as chairman of the grassroots network SAVE Rivers, was honoured for his courage in defending indigenous livelihoods against the threat of dams.
He and his fellow activists had managed to convince the Sarawak Government to cancel the Baram Dam, which would have led to the resettlement of up to 20,000 indigenous people, the statement said. Read more
