Forest activists today face sentencing in Hobart Magistrates court.  Sentencing will be handed down for a protest held at the Ta Ann Tasmania timber mill in November 2012.

Today, international solidarity has come from campaigners in Sarawak and Europe, who have lent their support to the activists and Huon Valley Environment Centre.

Sarawak indigenous leader Peter Kallang, chair SAVE RIVERS stated, “As far as Ta Ann is concerned, greed seems to surpass any noble or decent values. After their indiscriminate exploitation of resources at their home country, their greed now stretches out to distant shores. The modus operandi they use overseas seems to be the same as they do at home here in Sarawak, starting by using political influences.”

Clare Rewcastle, of Sarawak Report, stated, “Even Liberia in Africa has taken action against the people behind Ta Ann and yet so far the Tasmanian authorities have refused to even address the legitimate concerns of protestors against this company, which has extensive and proven links with criminal abuses of power and environmental destruction that has violated the rights of millions of indigenous people in Borneo. If the Norwegian Pension Fund can do its due diligence and conclude that Ta Ann is not a fit company in which to invest, then these protestors have a right be dismayed that the state of Tasmania has so far refused to even countenance the concerns.”

“The proven criminal links of the company Ta Ann has been recorded at length by respected organisations and NGOs across the world and yet it appears that so far the authorities in Tasmania have refused to recognise these issues in granting access to Tasmania’s native forests for their veneer mil,” said Ms Rewcastle.

Lukas Straumann, Director of Bruno Manser Fund, stated “The protests in Tasmania against Ta Ann, help form an important part of the campaign against corruption and human rights abuses in Sarawak.”

“The Tasmanian Forest Agreement between some environmental groups and the timber industry has attempted to hide Ta Ann from scrutiny, through international market endorsement. Failing to recognise this unethical company from Sarawak is in Tasmania to green wash their practices.  Though Huon Valley Environment Centre, with our international NGO networks will maintain our campaign to highlight the practices of Ta Ann and protest about their ongoing role in Tasmania’s timber industry.  Just last week we exposed the company’s source of timber is evidently still coming from the destruction of old growth forests in Tasmania,” Jenny Weber, spokesperson for Huon Valley Environment Centre said.