Jakarta – A chicken carcass was sent to the home of Greenpeace Indonesia Climate and Energy Campaign Manager Iqbal Damanik on Tuesday December 30. The carcass was found on the porch on Tuesday morning without any packaging.
Tucked to the chicken's feet was a plastic bag containing a piece of paper bearing the message: "WATCH YOUR TALK IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY, YOUR MOUTH IS YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY".
As reported on the Greenpeace Indonesia website, Damanik said he heard a "thud" on the porch early Tuesday morning. However, it wasn't until around 5.30 am that his family members discovered the chicken carcass. Damanik then examined it and documented the shipment.
Greenpeace Indonesia Country Director Leonard Simanjuntak said he suspects that the shipment was a form of terror against Damanik's work as a Greenpeace campaigner.
Moreover, a similar pattern of terror has been observed against other civil society activists, journalists, and social media activists in recent times.
Acehnese disk jockey DJ Donny reported on his social media account that he had also received a chicken carcass. In addition to DJ Donny, Acehnese influencer and content creator Sherly Annavita posted a report about vandalism against her private car and the delivery of a bag of rotten eggs to her residence.
Like Damanik, both also received threatening letters.
"It's hard not to link the delivery of this chicken carcass with efforts to silence those who have been vocal in their criticism of the current situation in Indonesia", said Simanjuntak.
"There is a similarity in the pattern that we have observed, so we believe this is a systematic terror [campaign] against those who have recently been critical of the government's handling of the Sumatra disaster", he continued.
Recently, Damanik has often uploaded posts about the Sumatra floods and the government's slow response to the disaster through his personal social media accounts.
In addition to this, several Greenpeace campaigners have also spoken out through media interviews and social media.
These statements stem from the findings of teams that went on the ground after the disaster, as well as Greenpeace's own findings and analysis.
However, Damanik has received numerous attacks in the comments sections of his social media posts, as well as threatening sounding direct messages via Instagram in recent times.
"Public criticism, including from our campaigners, of the government's handling of the Sumatran floods actually stems from concern and solidarity with the victims. Moreover, behind the Sumatran floods lies the issue of environmental destruction, namely deforestation and land conversion that have been going on for years, which occurred with the government's acquiescence", said Simanjuntak.
"Not to mention that the administration of [President] Prabowo [Subianto] plans to open up millions of hectares of land in Papua [for palm oil and sugar plantations], which will harm indigenous peoples and worsen the impacts of the climate crisis", he continued.
Greenpeace Indonesia condemns the increasingly widespread terror attacks against civil society, from activists and journalists to social media activists.
Simanjuntak believes that public criticism should not be treated as a threat, but rather as an expression of democracy and a reminder to those in power to remain accountable. He emphasised that freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
"Terrorist attempts will not deter us. Greenpeace will continue to speak out for climate justice, human rights, and democracy", Simanjuntak concluded. (ryn/dal)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Aktivis Greenpeace Dapat Kiriman Bangkai Ayam: 'Jagalah Ucapanmu'".]
