About forty indigenous people, dressed in orangutan masks, protested today in Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysia) during the Summit on Journalism and the Environment that is taking place this week.

The protest has simply consisted of the exposure of their faces with the masks of oranguntanes, carrying signs that read: “We do not believe in the forest certification that the Malaysian government is doing; Not only do orangutans have to be protected, but also the people who live with them; With the exploitation of palm oil they are destroying our forest.”

The indigenous people have thus given their opinion to the national and international journalists who are accredited to the Summit. It has been an improvised but very realistic press conference, explaining to the communicators who are at this international congress what is really happening in Borneo, indicating that there is another reality, in addition to the one that the Malaysian government tells.

On the other hand, indigenous peoples have criticized the fact that they have not been given a voice in a Summit that is supposed to be on the environment, so they have protested to the organization of the congress for not having included local populations in the program.

The Summit on Journalism and the Environment has been held in Kuching since 30 November and brings together reporters from all over the world.