인도네시아 바탕 석탄화력발전소 반대 요구 "자금 지원 중단해야"
인도네시아 자바섬 바탕 지역에 강행되는 2,000MW 규모의 새 석탄화력발전소 추진 중단을 요구하는 세계 63개의 시민사회단체가 일본 정부에 서한을 전달했다. 일본 기업이 이번 사업에 뛰어들겠다고 밝혔고, 일본의 국제협력은행(JBIC)이 16억 달러의 자금 지원을 검토 중에 있다. 인도네시아 정부는 군대까지 동원해 농민들에 대한 토지 수탈과 인권 침해를 자행하고 있습니다. 아래는 지구의 벗 일본의 보도자료와 서한의 전문이다. 한국 시민사회 중 환경운동연합이 서한에 연명했습니다. 링크는 http://www.foejapan.org/en/aid/150925.html
시민사회, 인도네시아 바탕 석탄화력 관련 일본 국제협력은행의 지원 중단 요구
63 CSOs Call on JBIC to Reject Financing for Batang Coal Plant in Indonesia
September 25, 2015
At the proposed project site of the controversial 2,000-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Batang, Central Java, Indonesia, further cases of human rights violations have been reported. Most recently, the Indonesian army has put and leveled the soil in the majority of farmlands which the landowners have not yet agreed to sell for the project.
On September 25, the undersigned 63 organizations from 20 countries, have submitted the urgent petition as below to call on Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to reject financing for the project, which has been pushed through in the forcible way, neglecting the local people’s opinion and rights.
Despite this serious human rights violation against the local community, JBIC is still considering funding the coal plant in Batang, which will cost US$ 4 billion. Japanese companies, “J Power” Electric Power Development Co. and Itochu Corp, have already decided to invested in the project. And JBIC is currently planning to finance around US$ 1.6 billion.
Ongoing and strong concerns regarding a loss of livelihoods, such as farming and fishing, have been raised persistently by local communities, and the project has been unable to proceed for nearly four years. 67 landowners who own some of the proposed project site are still refusing to sell their land.
In the end of July, three local villagers came to Japan to submit their objection to JBIC and talked directly to the Japanese decision-makers and public about the serious human rights violations they have experienced, such as intimidation and arbitrary arrest at the hands of the army, the police and the thugs. (http://sekitan.jp/jbic/?p=1184&lang=en)
To date, JBIC hasn't yet decided its finance for the project mainly due to the incompletion of the land acquisition. But the military has already cleared and leveled the farmland which the landowners haven't yet sold. This situation might be used by JBIC as a excuse for the completion of land acquisition. And JBIC might make a loan agreement with the project proponent on the occasion of the deadline for the financial closure of this project, or around October 6, 2015.
The urgent petition calls on JBIC to reject financing for the project, following its own environmental and social guidelines. JBIC must sincerely listen to the concerns and opinion of the local people, but being not complicit in those serious human rights violations against the local community the project has resulted in.
(The full text of the petition is below and downloadable here (PDF) :
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(This is a translation - The original letter was written in Japanese.)
September 25, 2015
Mr. Shinzo ABE, Prime Minister
Mr. Taro ASO, Minister of Finance
Mr. Hiroshi WATANABE, Governor, CEO, Japan Bank for International Cooperation
Urgent Request to Reject Japanese Public Financing
for the Proposed Batang Coal-fired Power Plant, Central Java, Indonesia
At the proposed project site of the Batang Coal-Fired Power Plant in Central Java, Indonesia, which the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is currently considering its finance for, the military engineer of the Indonesian army has resumed land clearing with heavy equipment since September 11, 2015. They have put and leveled the soil in the majority of farmlands which the landowners have not yet agreed to sell or to be acquired, and have also destroyed almost all the irrigation systems for their farmlands. We, the undersigned 63 organizations from 20 countries, express our strong objection against and deep regret at the forcible way with which the project has been pushed through, neglecting the local people’s opinion and rights and committing human rights violations in a highly oppressive manner, and call on JBIC not to finance for the project.
Ongoing and strong concerns regarding loss of livelihoods, such as farming and fishing, and health impacts from pollution, have been raised persistently by local communities, and the project has been unable to proceed for nearly four years. During this period, community leaders opposing the project and landowners refusing to sell their land in the proposed project site have been subject to repeated human rights violations, such as intimidation, violence, and arbitrary arrest and detention at the hands of the army, the police, and other actors. Despite these human rights violations, 67 landowners who own some of the proposed project site are still refusing to sell their land. Also, an administrative court case has been filed at Semarang City, Central Java, questioning the legality of the acquisition process based on Law No. 2 of 2012 on Land Acquisition in this project, and the public hearing is still continuing.
On July 29, 2015, 23 members of the local community submitted an official objection to JBIC. In the submission, the local community pointed out how the project has failed and will fail to comply with many provisions of the JBIC Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations (the Guidelines), as it has made/will make their life worse and has caused/will cause violations of human rights. JBIC have already conveyed the local community’s objections to the project proponent, according to “Summary of Procedures to Submit Objections concerning JBIC Guidelines.” And the project proponent under the Guidelines is expected to take steps to bring the project into compliance by making appropriate environmental and social considerations.
For one and a half month, however, there have been no improvements on the ground. Instead, further cases of human rights violations have been reported from the local area. The intimidation to force the landowners to sell their land has been continuing by local thugs, who are supposedly hired by the pro group for the project and visited the landowners’ houses in the midnight. When President Joko Widodo came to Batang for the “kick-off construction” ceremony on August 28, 2015, the local community who are opposing the project tried to convey their opposition to the President. But high-pressure water cannons belonging to the army and police prevented them from even coming close to the ceremony venue. Further, despite not having any “consent” of the landowners and farmers, the land clearing work has commenced again by heavy equipment of the Indonesian army since September 11, 2015, who just very easily destroyed the land which used to be very fertile enough for the farmers to harvest the rice three times a year.
This situation raises two important questions for us: first is whether the project proponent and the Indonesian government, who have important roles to play in terms of environmental and social considerations in this project, currently have intention to implement the project with appropriate environmental and social considerations according to the Guidelines, and the second is whether they actually have capacity to implement the project with appropriate environmental and social considerations in the future.
JBIC Guidelines states that “If, as a result of its environmental review, JBIC judges that appropriate environmental and social considerations are not ensured, it will encourage the project proponent, through the borrower, to undertake appropriate environmental and social considerations. If appropriate environmental and social considerations are not undertaken, there may be cases where funding is not extended.”
As the deadline for the financial closure of the project is October 6, 2015, it is assumed that JBIC would is being urged to make a decision. Given the following situations, we call on JBIC to reject financing for the project, taking the outcomes of its environmental reviews into account for decisions on funding:
(i) In the objection paper, the local community pointed out how the project has failed and will fail to comply with many provisions of JBIC Guidelines, which haven’t been improved or solved yet.
(ii) Even after JBIC had already conveyed the contents of the objection paper to the project proponent, no appropriate environmental and social consideration has been made since then (to rectify matters).
(iii) In light of the factors, such as the intention and the capacity of the project proponent and host government, who have important roles to play in this project, it is very uncertain whether appropriate environmental and social considerations can be ensured after JBIC makes a decision to finance the project.
We request that the Japanese government and JBIC sincerely listen to the concerns and opinion of the local people and take a strong and resolute position to reject its finance, but being not complicit in those serious human rights violations against the local community the project has resulted in. We will wait for your response.
This letter is endorsed by the following 63 organizations.
350.org
Asian Peasant Coalition (APC)
BankTrack
ECA Watch
Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific
Greenpeace East Asia
Greenpeace International
11.11.11, Belgium
NOAH - Friends of the Earth Denmark
Center for ecology and energy, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Center for Environment - Friends of the Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina
Friends of the Earth Canada
COECOCEIBA - Friends of the Earth Costa Rica
Les Amis de la Terre - Friends of the Earth France
CounterCurrent – GegenStroemung, Germany
Urgewald, Germany
The Ecological Justice, Indonesia
Greenpeace Indonesia
Indonesia Civil Society for Foreign Policy Working Group On Infrastructure, Indonesia
KIARA (The People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice), Indonesia
Paguyuban UKPWR, Indonesia
Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) - Friends of the Earth Indonesia
WALHI Central Java, Indonesia
WALHI East Java, Indonesia
WALHI Jambi, Indonesia
WALHI West Java, Indonesia
Re:Common, Italy
A SEED JAPAN, Japan
Friends of the Earth Japan
greeneconomy & development and population's principle laboratory, Japan
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Japan
Japan Tropical Forest Action Network, Japan
JUBILEE KYUSHU ON WORLD DEBT AND POVERTY, Japan
Kiko Network, Japan
Mekong Watch, Japan
Network for Indonesian Democracy, Japan (NINDJA), Japan
ODA Reform Network – Kansai, Japan
Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC), Japan
Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) - Friends of the Earth Korea
The Consumers' Association of Penang, Malaysia
Sahabat Alam Malaysia - Friends of the Earth Malaysia
Third World Network, Malaysia
Both ENDS, the Netherlands
Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria
CREED (Citizens' Alliance in Reforms for Equitable and Efficient Development), Pakistan
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan
Farmers Development Center -Bohol, Philippines
Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment, Philippines
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Philippines
KINABUHI Network, Philippines
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Philippines
Women's Development Center, INC., Philippines
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Ecological Alert and Recovery-Thailand (EARTH), Thailand
Energy Watch Thailand, Thailand
Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Thailand
Krabi Anti-Coal Network, Thailand
Save Andaman from Coal Network, Thailand
Thai Climate Justice Working Group, Thailand
Friends of the Earth US
Sierra Club, US
Ulu Foundation, US
GreenID, Vietnam
Contact:
Friends of the Earth Japan
Add: 1-21-9 Komone, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-0037 Japan
Tel:+81 3-6909-5983 Fax:+81 3-6909-5986
Cc: Mr. Masahiro Okafuji, President & Chief Executive Officer, ITOCHU Corporation
Mr. Yasuo Maeda, Chairman, Electric Power Development Co.,Ltd. (J-POWER)
Mr. Masayoshi Kitamura, President, Electric Power Development Co.,Ltd. (J-POWER)
Mr. Teisuke Kitayama, Chairman of the Board, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Mr. Nobuhide Hayashi, President & CEO, Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
Mr. Nobuyuki Hirano, President, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
* Batang Coal-fired Power Plant Project, Central Java, Indonesia
Two Japanese companies, J-POWER and ITOCHU, have already decided to invest in the project. Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is currently considering its finance for the project. The loan amount is allegedly around 40 percent of the entire project cost (approximately US$ 4 billion). If built, the power plants (2,000 MW) will be one of the biggest coal-fired power plants in Southeast Asia. See more details (only available in Japanese) http://www.foejapan.org/aid/jbic02/batang/index.html
지구의 벗 스코틀랜드 활동가들이 지난해 열린 '기후변화 행동의 날(Day of Action)'에 참가해 기후변화의 심각성을 알리는 퍼포먼스를 취하고 있다. ⓒColin Hattersley[/caption]
짚고 넘어가야 할 사실은 아직 기후난민은 국제법에 의해 난민으로 인정도, 보호도 받지 못한다는 것이다. 현재 난민을 규정하는 초석이 되는 1951년에 체결된 ‘난민 지위에 관한 유엔협약’에서는 난민을 "인종·종교·국적·특정 사회집단에서 소속 또는 정치적 견해를 이유로 박해를 받게 될 것이라는 충분한 이유 있는 공포 때문에 자국 국적 밖에 있는 자 및 자국의 보호를 받을 수 없거나 또는 그러한 공포 때문에 자국의 보호를 받기를 원하지 않는 자"라고 정의한다. 즉, 해수면 상승, 물 부족, 가뭄, 폭풍 해일 등 극단적인 기후변화의 결과로 나라를 떠나야만 하는, 혹은 이로 인한 피해에 대해 자국으로부터 어떠한 보호도 받을 수 없는 기후난민은 일반적인 난민의 범주에 포함이 되지 않는다는 것이다.
얼마 전 제주도에 입국한 예멘 난민 신청자들이 우리 사회에 던진 파장이 크다. 난민을 둘러싼 여러 논쟁이 현재까지 뜨겁게 이어지는 가운데, ‘진짜 난민’과 ‘가짜 난민’을 엄격하게 구분해야 한다는 주장이 큰 힘을 얻고 있다. 한국은 1992년 국회 비준을 거쳐 난민 협약에 가입했고, 2012년에는 아시아 최초로 독자적인 난민법을 제정하며 국제사회로부터 선도적인 난민 정책을 펼칠 것이라 주목받던 나라다. 그러나 한국의 난민 인정률은 4%대로, 소위 ‘진짜 난민’도 한국에서 난민으로 인정받기란 ‘하늘의 별 따기’다. 상황이 이런데 법률적으로는 개념 자체도 없는 기후난민이 우리나라에 대거 유입됐을 때 어떤 일이 일어날지는 어렵지 않게 예측할 수 있다. 기후난민에 대한 법적 근거가 부재함에도 불구하고 이 문제를 심각하게 여기고 있는 몇몇 나라에서는 대응에 나서기 시작했다. 지난해 11월 뉴질랜드는 해수면 상승으로 수몰 위기에 처한 주변 국가들에게 특별 비자를 발급하는 등 기후난민을 받아들일 준비를 할 것이라고 밝혔다.
국내에도 기후난민이란 개념이 아예 생소해 보이지는 않는다. 포털에 ‘기후난민’이란 키워드를 검색하면 정부 기관과 기업체의 관련 사회공헌 활동 기사가 줄을 잇는다. 우리나라의 무상 원조 기관인
한국국제협력단(코이카)은 지난 6월 8일 글로벌녹색성장기구(GGGI)와 함께 개도국 기후변화대응 지원을 위한 협력을 강화하기로 했다. ⓒ코이카[/caption]
기후난민 문제의 핵심은 기후변화에 책임이 거의 없는 가난한 나라들이 그 피해를 고스란히 떠안는다는 데 있다. 기후변화에 책임이 있는 나라들은 응당한 역할을 해야만 한다. 한국은 이산화탄소 배출량 세계 7위인 국가다. 국제사회에서는 기후변화 대응에 무책임한 ‘기후 악당 국가’로도 유명하다. 결국 기후난민 문제의 궁극적인 해결에 있어서는 온실가스 감축이 알파와 오메가가 될 것이다. 사회적 합의 도출을 위한 공론화 과정 역시 빠져서는 안 된다. 치열한 토론을 통해 양극단의 생각을 조율하고 합의하는 과정이 없다면 우리는 기후난민이 현실이 됐을 때도 진짜, 가짜 난민 논쟁에서 한 발짝도 나가지 못한 모습을 보일 것이다.
시민들의 의견
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