One hundred and sixty civil society organisations have urged Miri-based timber company Samling Plywood in Malaysia to withdraw its lawsuit against an NGO, ''SAVE Rivers'', and its board for defamation.
They sent a solidarity letter to Samling, one month before the start of the trial scheduled for May 15th this month, but unfortunately is has been postponed for the fourth time and its being suspected they are using their level best to silence the N.G.O.
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 several conservation organizations from diffrents parts of the world.
The Gerenai Community Rights Action Committee... 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’ defense that this suit by Samling is a SLAPP suit,” said Simon Siah, counsel for SAVE Rivers
Read more here-:).
160 organizations join new call for Samling to drop lawsuit
160 groups rally behind grassroots NGO SAVE Rivers through letters and an email petition demanding timber company Samling withdraw its lawsuit
https://borneoproject.org/160-organizations-join-new-call-for-samling-to-drop-lawsuit/
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Dear Patrick Kiash Thank you for getting your climate warning to level 2! We have reached out to SAMLING TIMBER MALAYSIA and requested a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time
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Deforestation is a sign of future failure in matters climate
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Hopefully the civil society groups get their way this time
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Saddening
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Forest destruction is a bad sign to climate change
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@johnte_ndeto True