Thai coup delays homecoming of Indonesian apes, again

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Thai coup delays homecoming of Indonesian apes, again

 

BANGKOK (AP): Dozens of smuggled orangutans that Thailand promised to return

to Indonesia have had their homecoming delayed by this month's military coup

in Bangkok.

 

An Indonesian military plane that was loaded with cages and ready to pick up

the apes will not be allowed to land in Thailand " until the situation

becomes normal, " Cap. Srichown Chanruang, deputy director of intelligence

for the Thai Air Force, toldThe Associated Press on Wednesday.

 

" We will probably wait until a new prime minister has been announced, " he

said. This is expected in coming days.

 

" It's frustrating, " said Edwin Wiek of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.

" We've been working on getting these animals home for four years and it's

disappointing to face yet another delay. "

 

Dr. Schwann Tunkihorn of Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife

and Plant Conservation confirmed that no future date has been fixed for the

transfer of these 41 orangutans.

 

" But we expect it to happen sooner rather than later, " he said.

 

The animals were originally expected to leave Thailand on Sept. 23 but their

departure was delayed due to the ouster of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

and the resulting military coup. Earlier in the week, officials said that

the orangutans would be leaving on Sept. 29 but both governments confirmed

that the transfer was being postponed again.

 

" The Thai military is hesitant to give us approval for bringing in a

military aircraft, " said Wisnu Pratignyo, political counselor at the

Indonesia Embassy. " We're waiting for the green light from them. "

 

The orangutans were confiscated in August 2004 from Bangkok's private Safari

World zoo, where they were forced to perform in daily boxing matches. DNA

tests have since proved they were from the island of Kalimantan (Borneo) in

Indonesia.

 

" Everything is in order here, " said Aldrianto Priadjati, executive director

of Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, which is helping coordinate the

transfer. " The transport cages are ready. The military plane is ready. The

people are ready. "

 

After arriving in Jakarta, the orangutans are to be shipped to a

rehabilitation center in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province.

 

A total of 53 orangutans taken from Safari World had been kept at a wildlife

breeding center in Ratchaburi province, 95 kilometers west of Bangkok.

 

Seven have been diagnosed with hepatitis B and will remain at the center,

while five others were loaned last year to the Chiang Mai Night Safari.

 

Activists have unsuccessfully campaigned for the five at Chiang Mai Night

Safari to also be sent to Indonesia.

 

" There is no doubt that those five orangutans belong to Indonesia, " said

Edwin Wiek of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand.

 

" But the night safari is insisting that the animals are happy in the park

and should be allowed to stay there, " Wiek said.

 

" That's just nonsense. The orangutans are being kept there illegally and

should be returned as soon as possible. " (***)