"RAINBOW WARRIOR" STILL TRYING TO ENTER RI WATERS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 15 (ANTARA) - In spite of rejection by the government, Greenpeace's flagship "Rainbow Warrior" is still doing its best to get a permit to enter Indonesia's waters.          The environmental activists' ship is still  in  international waters. "The permit is not yet issued. We are still doing our best to get permission for  the ship to enter Indonesian waters," Greenpeace representative for Southeast Asia Nur Hidayati told ANTARA on Friday.          She said that her side was still trying to ask for entry permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that Rainbow Warrier would be allowed to berth at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port.          Nur Hidayati said she did not know the real reason why the Greenpeace ship was barred from entering Indonesian waters.          "We are trying to meet foreign ministry officials. We have sent a new trip plan. We have been refused entry because there was a change in our itinerary," Nur Hidayati said.          Spokesperson for the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry Teuku Faizasyah said earlier the Greenpeace vessel could not berth at Tanjung Priok port as the agenda delivered by Greenpeace's representative office in Indonesia did not match  the agenda received by the Foreign Affairs Ministry from Greenpeace.          "We found the difference two or three days before the vessel was scheduled to arrive in Indonesia. Thus, the ministry and other relevant institutions including the Defense Force (TNI) and the Transportation Ministry have yet to give the permit to the vessel," he said.          On Friday, Faizasyah reaffirmed the Indonesian government's rejection of the environmental activists' "Rainbow Warrior" to enter the country's waters. "It has been decided that the ship will not be allowed to enter Indonesia," Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.          He said there are three offices responsible for giving access to the ship namely the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of transportation and the Defense Forces Headquarters. Regarding the reasons for not allowing the ship to come to the country Faizasyah said that they need not be made known to the public.          "At least what is worth noting is that the reasons for making Indonesia as the destination were presented by different agencies while their program was submitted later on," he said.          Faizasyah said the ship was expected to be in Indonesia for three months but Greenpeace had never given a detailed explanation about the activities to be done by the ship in the country.           In the meantime, member of Parliament Azis Syamsudin said he supported the government's decision not to allow the  Greenpeace boat "Rainbow Warrior" to come to Indonesia as it was feared to bring a mission harmful to the country.          "I support  the government's measure to refuse the arrival of the Greenpeace vessel in Indonesia before it proves that its visit is useful to Indonesia," said Azis who is a member of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission III on legal and human rights affairs.          Azis predicted the boat had a hidden agenda related to trade competition like black campaign against crude palm oil and paper from Indonesia. "Through its campaign in Indonesia, Greenpeace always says there are environmental damages which become a reason to reject our CPO and blames paper industries which were said to have used illegal logs. I am afraid it would be an agenda to weaken our economy," he said.          Greenpeace Southeast Asia Executive Director Von Hernandes denied that  "Rainbow Warrior" would bring a hidden agenda in its visit to Indonesia. "Therefore, we are sending a letter to explain our activities. We explained that we are only to meet our supporters in Indonesia," he said.         However, according to Greenpeace Southeast Asia country representative Nur Hidayati, her side had not received a written reply from the ministry yet. "We are waiting for a written reply because we still feel  uncertain. We have received only a verbal statement. If the ministry rejects there must be a written reply," she said.          She said the mission of the ship was in fact supporting the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in its effort to reduce emissions of gas by 26 percent and forest moratorium.          Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo had expressed disappointment over the Indonesian government for not allowing the ship to come to the country. The ship plans to conduct a campaign activity to promote solutions of climate change through energy efficiency and renew energy sources.          The campaign themed "Turn the Tide" in Southeast Asia is scheduled to be done in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.          Greenpeace's media spokesman for Southeast Asia Hikmat Soeriatanuwijaya said he was disappointed with the refusal as the visit of Rainbow Warriors  was intended to make campaigns beneficial to Indonesia. "The visit of Rainbow Warrior is to commemorate the 10th year of Greenpeace's presence in Southeast Asia and the 5th year of its presence in Indonesia," he said.          He said his side would make the public aware of the importance of taking anticipatory measures against disasters due to global climate changes, promoting renewable energy suitable for Indonesia and preventing tropical forests from damages.          "We are not against oil palm as in principle, we support oil palm plantation so long as they do not damage forests," he said.***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/23:34/a014) 15-10-2010 23:31: