13 September 2007 - Jakarta,
Indonesia — Earlier this month a group of
Islamic scholars and clerics, the Ulamas
of Jepara, issued a fatwa against a proposed
nuclear plant in their community. We've
been supporting the thousands of locals
already protesting against this plant. And
yesterday, we took the protest to the energy
company's own headquarters with one of our
classic banner hanging actions.
The fatwa
A fatwa is a religious ruling based on
Islamic law. Before issuing the fatwa against
the nuclear plant, the group of scholars
and clerics heard all sides of the argument.
They consulted scientists, energy industry
experts, community leaders, environmental
activists and the Quran.
After long deliberation they issued their
finding:
Nuclear power is haraam. The negative impacts
far outweigh the benefits.
Nuclear power is dangerous because of its
radioactivity. Nuclear power is dangerous
because there is no known way to properly
deal with nuclear waste.
Indonesia is the world's most populous
Muslim-majority nation.
The nuclear plant
Indonesia is fast-tracking plans to build
its first nuclear reactor in Jepara, on
the island of Java, where an earthquake
killed more than 2,735 people in May 2006,
and where the Mount Merapi volcano is threatening
to erupt.
"Nuclear energy is an inherently dangerous
option for our country. Let’s not forget
that Indonesia is located in the main volcanic
chain of the planet, known as ‘Pacific ring
of fire’ and at the joints of tectonic plates,
which makes it vulnerable to earthquakes"
said Energy campaigner Nur Hidayati of Greenpeace.
“It is a moral and ethical obligation for
the Indonesian government not to put the
lives of millions of Indonesian citizens
and future generations at risk, especially
not for the short sighted interests of a
handful elites."
The company behind the plan, PT Medco Energi
Internasional, is asking for US$3 billion
to build a 2000 MW nuclear power plant by
2016. But both the timeline and the (already
large) price tag are unrealistic. Hardly
any of the currently 435 commercial nuclear
reactors in operation world-wide have been
built within the planned time frames or
budgets.
"Why is Medco pushing hazardous nuclear
and dirty coal, which are nothing but obstacles
for solutions to climate change and energy
security?" said Hidayati. "Why
is Medco overlooking the abundance of proven
and safe alternatives for producing electricity
from renewable sources including geothermal,
solar, micro-hydro, wind and biomass?"
What we're doing
We're working with locals in the area where
the reactor is proposed as well as with
Indonesian civil society groups, plus holding
our own protests.
Yesterday, eight activists went into the
Medco building. Two of them absailed from
the roof to hang a 30-metre banner reading,
"Medco, Hands Off Nuclear". All
eight were detained by building security,
but later released.
