orangutan trafficking and Willie Smits-film transcript

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends of the Orangutan,

Here is a link to an important Australian-produced

film highlighting the work of BOS's Willie Smits, Lone

Droscher Nieslen and Edwin Wiek as well as Profauna

Indonesia.

Michelle

 

http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=2706

 

Indonesia - Taking on the Wildlife Traders - 30 min 06

sec [18 April 2005] Wild orang-utans will be extinct

within 20 years

Dutch campaigner Willie Smits has dedicated his life

to fighting Indonesia’s illegal wildlife trade. But in

doing so, he’s taking on the army and has made many

powerful enemies. Wild orang-utans sell for tens of

thousands of dollars on the black market. “The network

is very big and the biggest player is the army,”

alleges Willie Smits. “They use their planes and ships

to move animals all over Indonesia.” He’s developed a

network of wildlife sanctuaries and undercover

investigators to fight the trade. But his actions have

attracted the wrath of the traffickers. “Cars have

been sabotaged, houses set on fire. I’ve written my

will and arranged my grave.” All the odds appear

stacked against him. The scale of the trade had been

drastically underestimated and it’s now feared that

orangutans could soon be extinct in the wild. “We

built a network that could cope with 50,000 but

hundreds of thousands of animals are involved,” Smit

laments. However, thanks to him SBS

 

 

Indonesia - Taking on the Wildlife Traders - 30 min

06 sec [18 April 2005] TRANSCRIPT

This baby orangutan was confiscated from animal

traders in North Sulawesi. She's worth tens of

thousands of dollars on the black market, and she owes

her life to this man, Willie Smits. But by taking on

Indonesia's wildlife traders, Willie has made powerful

enemies. Once I started taking orangutans from army

people and police we got a lot of threats ... rocks

thrown, dogs killed, car sabotaged, house set on fire

etc Willie has dedicated his life to saving what

remains of Indonesia's wild animals. As a result, he

now lives with the prospect that every day, someone

may try to kill him. Tell me about the preparations

you've made in case something happens to you The usual

stuff ... I wrote my will, and made my grave ... I

wrote the letters for my boys ... Are you worried that

something will happen to you? Yes, of course To

understand why Willie's life is in danger, we need to

go to Central Kalimantan. These baby orangutans have

narrowly escaped death at the hands of the same people

who have been threatening Willie. They’re victims of

illegal wildlife traders. Their mothers have been

killed, and they are now being cared for at this

rehabilitation centre set up by Willie. There's

thought to be around 50,000 orangutans left in Borneo

and Sumatra, but at the current rate of death and

destruction they're suffering, they'll be extinct in

the wild within 20 years. Probably when they killed

the mother, they used a machete, and they cut off her

hand, and her foot as well ... s'ok siang, s'ok

Willie's manager here is Lone Neilson. She looks after

around 300 orangutans, and their stories have shown

her some of the worst aspects of human nature. When

Tip's mother was killed, they obviously used a shotgun

.... one pellet grazed his eye, and is now lodged in

his forehead ... that's why he's blind in this eye ...

we probably could take it out, but there's no need to

do operations and stuff Perhaps the most grotesque

story is that of Pony... (Tells how Pony was used for

prostitution) This footage was taken when Pony was

sedated and confiscated from the logging camp. The

wailing is from her owner, who's complaining that her

livelihood is being taken from her. That last time we

went out there we had 36 military police officers with

us, and the whole village were out with their

machetes... we got so many threats, the whole centre

was under siege, we had military police stationed here

for five weeks, 24 hours a day For now, Pony is in

quarantine, but hopefully she'll soon be joining the

other orangutans in the forest reserve nearby. Look at

this one here, beautiful, have you ever seen one like

this? ... Here in Sulawesi is another of the 15 rescue

centres Willie has set up across the country, with the

aid of funds from a wealthy Indonesian family. Each

one is a modern day Noah's Ark, providing shelter to

all kinds of rare and valuable animals until they can

be safely released. ... look here, these are all birds

of paradise on this side, worth hundreds of thousands

of dollars here in this one cage ... these are all

from Papua and the eastern islands .. very, very rare

and difficult to keep... Willie came out from Holland

over twenty years ago, to work as a forester in the

jungles of Borneo. Not long after he arrived, he found

a baby orangutan left to die on a rubbish heap. After

nursing her back to health, he began a crusade against

the illegal wildlife traders responsible. People

understand that this is not just a place where they

keep animals ... Along with the rescue centres, Willie

has set up his own network of informants and

undercover investigators. We have our intel unit,

which can provide all the institutions with

information... But he's begun to realise he's

drastically underestimated the size of the problem,

and that the odds are stacked against him. There are

many more animals showing up in the animal trade than

we ever expected…we built a network that could cope

with 50,000 ... but it turns out there are hundreds of

thousands involved every year. This is the Pramuka

Market in Jakarta. I've come here to see where the

wildlife traders do business. Filming openly here can

result in a smashed camera and a beating, so I'm

posing as a tourist with several of Willie's

colleagues, and using a concealed camera. This is one

of the biggest marketplaces in the world for protected

wildlife. The network is very big, biggest player is

the army, they use their planes and ships to move

animals all over Indonesia ... several zoos involved,

politicians ... it's gigantic.Within a few minutes of

arriving, we're offered protected birds like these

baby owls, as well as other animals from all over

Indonesia.Some of the most expensive animals here are

the larger primates, like gibbons and orangutans.

These men told us they had a siamang, a type of

gibbon, for sale, but that we'd have to follow them

out the back of the market. Careful, he's still a bit

stunned ... he's a pet. The day we visited the market,

there were no orangutans available, but they were told

they could be obtained for a price. The going rate was

seven and a half million rupiah, or just over a

thousand Australian dollars. Indonesia's orangutans

are in huge demand across South East Asia, but one of

the most extraordinary smuggling cases, still

unresolved, involves the Safari World game park in

Bangkok, Thailand. Describing itself as " the World of

Happiness " , Safari World stretches over 200 acres of

game parks, where visitors can drive through lion and

tiger displays. Over the last few years more than 150

orangutans have been smuggled into Thailand from

Indonesia, and most ended up here. This is why Safari

World was so keen to get its hands on them. It's

trained them to perform in these kickboxing shows,

which were one of its most popular and profitable

attractions.... After protests from Indonesia, the

shows at Safari World Bangkok stopped in August. But

many of the best performers have been quietly smuggled

out to other locations, where the shows continue. This

performance was recorded in December, just over the

border in Cambodia. But in Bangkok, more than a

hundred orangutans are still locked away in cages,

their fate uncertain. Prosecuting Safari World for

this smuggling has proved difficult. It's a major

business, listed on the Thai stock exchange, and the

owners are politically well connected. Major General

Saweche Pinshinchai is the head of the Thai Forestry

Police, and is responsible for investigating animal

smuggling here. He knows first -hand how high those

connections go. There is some pressure... When I

started in this position, there was a lot of animal

smuggling going on. I went to inspect several

government and private zoos. We had a lot of arrests

then, including at Safari World. So, the zoo operators

all over the country got together and appealed to the

Minister to have me removed.... They are very

powerful, very influential. They are very well

connected with politicians and government officials.

Edwin Wiek also understands how well-connected Safari

World's owners are. He's Willie Smits' representative

in Thailand, and runs his own animal rescue centre,

several hours drive from Bangkok. Edwin has been

lobbying hard here for the Safari World orangutans to

be returned to Indonesia, but he's paying the price

for his efforts.On the basis of an anonymous

complaint, he's been charged by the Ministry of

Natural Resources with possessing wild animals without

a permit. There is no official permit for rescue

centres in Thailand ... however, the government

themselves are not able to take all the animals in.

.... but what makes the case particularly absurd is

that the same department that charged him continues to

dump confiscated animals at his centre. Rather than

wait for the police to come and arrest him, Edwin has

decided to drive into court himself. Well, I'm going

to court today, I'm being arrested ... for saving wild

animals, which is supposed to be a crime suddenly ...

Why do you think you are being arrested? Well, I think

there's another reason, it's because I've been pushing

this case of the smuggled orangutans ... I've been

warned to let go of this case, but I've been a bit

stubborn, been a bad boy I guess. The judge and court

officials are embarrassed by the case, and are

extremely uneasy about the proceedings being filmed.

If he sees you're filming, you'll lose your camera.

While the negotiations continue over his fate, Edwin

ends up in the cells under the court building. Several

hours later, Edwin is bailed out. And in the

topsy-turvey world of Thai justice, it's the head of

the forestry police who puts up the money, paying

around $20,000 US out of his own pocket. General

Saweche also believes the charge is payback for

Edwin's lobbying against Safari World. Edwin has done

good things for the Thai people and for animals in

Thailand. He is in fact helping all of us.... Some

government agencies just like to stir up problems.

Being behind bars in a country like this was

absolutely not what I had in mind when I started this

work When Willie Smits heard that Edwin was about to

be jailed, he got on a plane to Bangkok with a

colleague. But by the time they arrive, Edwin has been

bailed out. The next day, they visit the Indonesian

embassy to lobby the ambassador for support. Willie

has already DNA tested the Safari World orangutans to

prove they have been smuggled, and not bred in

captivity, as the owners claimed. We have paid for the

DNA testing, we are ready to pay for the transport;

there is no reason why they should not be sent back

now. Besides the case of Safari World, we are still

talking about three more cases... ... Only delays,

only excuses, only lies. Next stop for Edwin and

Willie is the Forestry Police headquarters. They want

to get into Safari World to check on the orangutans,

and they need General Saweche's help. Just like to see

the health, the condition of the orangutans, because

in the past 14 already dead ... just like to see their

condition now, hmm? Despite protests from Safari

World, Willie and Edwin have been given permission to

do an inspection. This is Central Kalimantan, where

Willie hopes the Safari World orangutans will be

released. It's just one of the forest areas his

organisation has bought to maintain as protected

sanctuaries. These ultralights make regular sweeps of

the area, to watch out for illegal logging and fire

Once the orangutans are almost ready to go back into

the forest alone, Lone and her staff move them to

these islands in the middle of the river. It's an

island where they train for the last, maybe year, they

learn how to find fruit in the forest, how to climb

trees and make nests ... these guys have been here for

two years and are doing really well ... they’re ready

to be released, every single one of them. But not

every orangutan rescue has a happy ending. When this

orangutan, Tole, was confiscated from an animal trader

in East Java in late 2003, she was overweight and in

poor health. She was moved to this rescue centre in

Malang, run by Willie's organisation. Not long after,

she died. The death of an orangutan gave ammunition to

the wildlife traders, who mounted a vicious personal

attack on Willie and his colleagues. The news articles

just went up and up, the whole campaign that we were

involved in the animal trade, that we were murdering

orangutans for medical reasons ... whatever, garbage!

The local paper gave front-page treatment to the Tole

case, running over 150 stories in less than 12 months.

Then in an extraordinary turn, Greenpeace and other

high profile conservation groups appeared to weigh

into the debate. Statements were issued, criticising

Willie and his colleagues, and calling for him to be

expelled from Indonesia. This fax is supposedly from

the Washington DC office of Greenpeace, and calls for

Willie to be prosecuted. But it's a poor forgery, as

Greenpeace's South East Asian office complained. The

article " Greenpeace regrets orangutan's death in

Malang " contains not only inaccuracies, but was based

on a forged document. Please note that: Greenpeace did

not issue the said letter. And after obtaining a copy

of that letter, it is very obvious that it is a forged

document. The letters of protest from other

conservation groups were also later shown to be fakes.

The campaign culminated in this extraordinary

demonstration outside Willie's office at the Jakarta

Zoo. A mob of students read out a list of accusations

against Willie and his colleagues, claiming he was

involved in the wildlife trade. And as this banner

shows, they also demanded that " he be killed to save

the earth " . Outraged how these guys can be bribed to

stand outside his office demanding he be killed, and

then shake hands with the police as they pack up ...

More than 12 months later, Willie and those working

with him are still receiving anonymous threats,

usually on their mobile phones. As I'm filming at the

animal rescue centre in Bali, both he and Wita, the

manager of the centre, receive the same message. The

threats have not stopped Willie's operations against

wildlife traders. His team has made an extraordinary

find in the middle of one of the most crowded tourist

areas in Bali. Out the back of a sausage factory,

there's half a dozen lions and tigers hidden away in

tiny cages. Willie has raided this place before, and

it is now too dangerous for him to enter. Posing as

tourists, we should be able to get in, but Willie has

arranged for someone to keep an eye on us. The moment

they recognise me, the police will show up. They will

try to grab your camera, destroy it, and beat us up.

They don't know you guys, so you’re safe to go in

there ... we have a special guy, who is not known here

yet, to accompany you. Don't stay too long, don't be

suspicious, or there will be trouble. I'll be waiting

here. As I walk up the alley, the investigator goes

ahead to check things out. We are just metres from one

of the busiest streets in Denpasar, and there are five

lions and tigers locked up here. They are most likely

destined to become trophy pets for senior Indonesian

military officers. Chained to the side of one cage is

a tiger cub. I'm quickly asked to stop filming, and

the manager of the factory is sent for to find out who

we are.(Upsot - " Stop - no camera ? OK, I'll turn it

off " )(Upsot from female manager - " Hello sir, where

are you from? " )Behind the manager, a man wearing a

crash helmet and carrying a club has already appeared.

If we stay any longer, we will be getting a beating.

If you go to the houses of the military officials

everywhere you see the last tigers of Sumatra,

stuffed, or sitting alive, becoming slowly extinct.

Late at night in a Surabaya hotel, I'm introduced to

one of the men Willie believes is threatening to kill

him. This is Sinhgky Soewadji, a notorious animal

trader with links to the dealers in Bali. Through an

intermediary, he's agreed to an interview. He makes no

apology for trading in wild animals. My business is

entertainment ... but my hobby is animals. And you've

had animals before? Yes, I had 16 tigers, elephants,

lions ... 40 crocodiles, 30 orangutans ... And what

happens to those animals, were they in the zoos? No,

in my house, my land. Willie Smits claims to have

traced the threatening messages he receives back to

phones used by an employee of Singky Soewadji. Willie

and Profauna receive many threats. Do you have

anything to do with those threats, and if they don't

come from you, who do they come from? (Bahasa) It's

like this ... with the sort of work Smits and Rosek

do, threats are common. Singky Soewadji is also

non-committal about who forged the letters from

Greenpeace to discredit Willie. I've heard about that

.... yeah, I've heard about that. In Indonesia, you can

forge anything ... Right? Willie takes the threat of

death seriously enough to have made preparations. At

home with his wife in North Sulawesi, he shows me the

burial site they have picked out. She's saying, why

don't we put up the roof now, so it will look

nicer…this is our grave. Yeah, you don't know, it

could happen any time. How do you feel, knowing that

you have your grave ready, it doesn't worry you? I'm

happy, because I know where it is ... don't you think

so? I've never thought about it, to be honest. And

then you can prepare, you can make it nicer, yeah? But

not yet. Indonesia, Willie is a professor at the local

university in Sulawesi, and today he's presiding over

this graduation ceremony. One of the criticisms Willie

finds most hurtful is that he's a meddling foreigner.

In fact, he's made a long-term commitment to Indonesia

by surrendering his Dutch passport, and becoming an

Indonesian national. At least the people know I won't

be running away and giving up ... I'm here to stay as

long as I can, to do whatever I can. What sort of

price do you think you have paid for the work you are

doing? A lot of hatred, and a lot of enemies ... it's

so much easier to run away from problems Has it been

worth it? I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't

worth it.

 

 

 

 

Michelle Desilets

BOS UK

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

www.savetheorangutan.info

" Primates Helping Primates "

 

Please sign our petition to rescue over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand:

http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

 

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