Muhammad Isa Bustomi, Jakarta – Eleven Greenpeace Indonesia activists arrested after unfurling protest banners on the Welcome Statue Monument at the Hotel Indonesia (HI) traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Tuesday October 20 have been released.
Initially, five activists consisting of the rescue team and the press team, were allowed to go home first. Meanwhile, six climbers were released after undergoing approximately eight hours of questioning at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Headquarters (Mapolda Metro Jaya).
Greenpeace Indonesia Climate Justice Campaigner Jeanny Sirait emphasised that the release was not the end of their struggle to speak out about the climate crisis.
"This release is not the end of our struggle. The peaceful demonstration at the HI traffic circle is the beginning of raising awareness that the climate crisis has reached our dinner tables, through rising food prices and the loss of livelihoods", Sirait said in a written statement on Tuesday.
Protest banner at the HI traffic circle
The earlier protest involved climbing the Welcome Statue Monument and unfurling banners criticising the handling of natural disasters and forest fires.
One of banners read, "Disasters Are Getting Worse, Life Is Getting Harder, What's the Government Doing?". Another banner demanded, "Address the Climate Crisis, Lower the Cost of Living".
Through the protest action, Greenpeace highlighted the impact of the climate crisis on people's lives, from rising living costs to the loss of livelihoods.
Sirait also highlighted the haze caused by forest fires that continues to impact several areas in Kalimantan.
"The prolonged haze is a clear example of how the ecological crisis burdens people's lives, from health problems to daily economic activities", said Sirait.
According to Sirait, vulnerable workers are feeling the impact of the crisis more severely.
Six activists released after questioning
Alif Fauzi, a member of the Greenpeace activists support team from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), stated earlier that 11 people were arrested after the action.
"A total of 11 people were arrested. Of those 11, five were from the rescue team and five were members of the press who have been allowed to go home", Fauzi said when sought for confirmation on Tuesday.
Six other activists then underwent questioning at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Headquarters for approximately eight hours.
Their lawyer, Daniel Winarta, stated that the six activists were released because no criminal offenses were alleged in the action.
"So far, no criminal offenses have been found. They were immediately released on the instructions of the Kabag Wasidik [Director of General Criminal Investigation Head of the Supervision and Investigation]", said Winarta.
Greenpeace urges government take action
Following the release of all activists, Greenpeace emphasised that it would continue to urge the government to take concrete steps to address the climate crisis.
Sirait urged the government not to ignore the impacts of the environmental crisis already being felt by the public.
"The government cannot continue to ignore it. We will continue to speak out and urge the government to take concrete action to address the climate crisis and lower the cost of living", said Sirait.
Greenpeace also urged the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to more seriously address the climate crisis and environmental issues.
For Greenpeace, the release of the activists does not change the demands they expressed during the action at the HI traffic circle on addressing the climate crisis and lowering the cost of living.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "11 Aktivis Greenpeace Dibebaskan, Spanduk di Bundaran HI Bukan Akhir Perjuangan".]