Indonesian lawmaker attacks Greenpeace

An Indonesian lawmaker said Tuesday Greenpeace should be expelled from the country if an investigation finds the environmental group is trying to "ruin our sovereignty". "We have found indications that Greenpeace has its own political and economic agenda in Indonesia," said Effendy Choirie, who sits on a parliamentary commission overseeing security and foreign affairs. "If there is clear data that they are trying to ruin our sovereignty, then the government has to expel them or give sanctions," added the lawmaker from the Muslim-based National Awakening Party. The party is a member of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling coalition. There was no formal response from the government to the allegations. Choirie refused to elaborate on Greenpeace's alleged wrongdoings, except to say that the international non-governmental agency was biased against certain unnamed companies. "We have a plan to invite Greenpeace for a hearing. We'll urge the government to find the data about their wrongdoings," he said. Greenpeace has aggressively campaigned against powerful palm oil and paper companies that are widely blamed for rampant destruction of Indonesian forests and threatening critically endangered species like orangutans and tigers. The organisation released a video this week showing a rare Sumatran tiger dying in a trap, in what it said was a forest concession owned by Asia Pulp and Paper, a Singapore-based paper and packaging giant. Greenpeace country representative Nur Hidayati rejected Choirie's allegations. "There is a fact that seems to have been forgotten, which is that Greenpeace exists not only in Indonesia. We are present in more than 40 countries, most of them are in developed countries," she said in a statement. "Greenpeace is not willing and will never want to accept funding from governments, governmental bodies or any companies." Indonesia is considered the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, mainly through deforestation for the timber industry and to make way for plantations.