KUCHING, May 22, 2014: A delegation of dam-affected natives from
Sarawak have made a surprise call at the Oslo headquarters of Norconsult, the
Norwegian energy consultancy group, in Sandvika, Norway, today.
They demanded to talk to
Norconsult’s chief executive officer and president John Nyheim, about the
company’s businesses in Sarawak.
The company secretariat,
however, refused to let the natives talk to their staff and asked them to leave
their headquarters in Sandvika in the greater Oslo area.
Norconsult has been
providing technical and engineering services to the state-owned dam builder and
power supplier, Sarawak Energy, through its Malaysian subsidiary, NorPower.
Indigenous representative
Lah Jok, whose village Long Liam will be flooded by the proposed Baram Dam, is
shocked about Norconsult’s lack of interest in the plight of the affected people:
“We have travelled so far and no one in this big company can spare a minute to
talk to us?”
The delegation of Sarawak’s
SAVE Rivers network had asked for a formal meeting with Norconsult but were
turned down by Nyheim.
Peter Kallang, leader of the
native delegation reacted with outrage: “How can it be that Norconsult
are assisting Sarawak Energy to drown our people but refuse to meet us?
"Mr Nyheim and his
staff must know that they cannot silence us. We ask them to stop advising
Sarawak Energy.”
The Borneo delegation will
continue its Europe tour in the North of Norway. Tomorrow, they will visit
Norway’s controversial Alta Dam built in the late 1970s on the land of the
indigenous Sami people.
The Malaysians will meet
representatives of the Sami Parliament as well as Sami people who were involved
in the resistance against the construction of the Alta Dam on their lands.
The Bruno Manser Fund
condemns Norconsult’s arrogant stance and lack of transparency in its dealings
with the stakeholders from Sarawak’s indigenous communities.
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