Indigenous Groups Seek Millions From Credit Suisse Over Timber Deal

WOOD PILE

Samling, a Malaysian timber company, operates in 3.9 million hectares (15,054 square miles) of forest across Malaysia's Sarawak peninsula.

by Staff Writers
Zurich (AFP) May 03, 2007
Groups representing indigenous peoples in Guyana, Cambodia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea on Thursday urged the Swiss bank Credit Suisse to pay them 10 million dollars (7.0 million euros) in compensation because of its links with a Malaysian timber company. The company, Samling, retained Credit Suisse as an adviser during its stock market flotation in February, along with HSBC and Australian bank Macquarie.

The indigenous peoples claim that Samling's operations have damaged their communities by cutting down forests and in some cases, polluting sources of drinking water.

"We're slowly dying," a representative of the Penan people from Malaysia told journalists at a press conference here.

"We are asking that Credit Suisse give back the profits generated by the stock exchange debut, 10 million dollars, to the indigenous peoples harmed by Samling," said Lukas Straumann of the Swiss environmental group, the Bruno Manser Fund.

Samling operates in 3.9 million hectares (15,054 square miles) of forest across Malaysia's Sarawak peninsula and Guyana in Latin America alone.

The company rejected allegations of a cavalier attitude towards indigenous peoples and said it always operates within the law.

"Before we begin operations, we always consult with the local communities to get their feedback and come to amicable agreements before we carry out harvesting work," Samling said in a statement on its website.

The Bruno Manser Fund and another Swiss group, the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), said they had met with Credit Suisse on February 23 but the talks proved fruitless.

They accuse the bank of not adhering to its own charter on sustainable development when accepting to work with Samling.

They now plan to attend the Credit Suisse's annual general meeting on Friday and invited representatives from the indigenous peoples to accompany them.

A bank spokesman said a thorough investigation had shown that Samling operated in accordance with all relevant laws.

Credit Suisse will also organise a meeting between the indigenous peoples and Samling itself, he added.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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