Send Petitions to US Interior Secretary to Help Create World Heritage
Site at Australia's Kakadu Park
4/16/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Send Petitions to US Interior Secretary to Help Create
World Heritage Site at Australia's Kakadu Park
Source: Friends of the Earth - Australia
Status: Distribute freely with credit given to source
Date: April 16, 1999
Attn: Global Response Quick Response Network:
This urgent (gotta do it right away!) appeal comes from Friends of
the Earth - Australia. Please send a quick fax to US Secretary of
the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, before he meets with Australian
aboriginal representative Yvonne Margarula April 20. Thanks for your
help with this! --GR
Dear US and other groups,
On April 20, Yvonne Margarula, the Senior Traditional Owner of the
Jabiluka land in Kakadu National Park, in the NT of Australia, and
Jacqui Katona, executive officer of the Gundjehmi Aboriginal
Corporation, will be seeing US Secretary for the interior, Bruce
Babbitt.
Bruce Babbit is the boss, or rather the bosses boss, of the US
delegation to the World Heritage Bureau and Committee.
Last december in Kyoto, the Bureau and the Committee accepted a
report from the World Heritage mission to Kakadu, reccommending that
Kakadu be listed as 'in Danger' in a manner similar to Yellowstone
and the Everglades.
The proposed Jabiluka uranium mine is in the middle of the World
Heritage area, surrounded by it on all sides. It is directly adjacent
to archeological sites up to 60,000 years old.
The final decision to put Kakadu on the 'in Danger' list is anything
but a done deal. It will be made in Paris in June/July at meetings
of the Bureau and the committee, after consideration of a 'rebuttal,
by the Australian Government of the Kakadu World Heritage Mission
report.
The Australian Government released this rebuttal yesterday, and it
claims that there is no threat to Kakadu.
The Australian federal government has allocated a million dollars to
a massive campaign of international lobbying, designed to avoid an
'In Danger' listing.
The Australian environment community is strongly countering this with
our own campaign, which enjoys the support of the majority (67%) of
the voting population, all non- government political parties and the
uniting and catholic churches.
The US delegation, for which Babbitt is responsible, is of critical
importance on the World Heritage Bureau and Committee, and its
attitude will strongly influence other delegations when the committee
and the bureau meeting Paris in June/July to make a final 'in danger'
listing.
The meeting of Yvonne and Jacqui with Babbit is therefore crucial to
getting Kakadu finally declared 'in Danger'.
BABBITT NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU NOW.
HIS FAX NUMBER IS 202-208-5048.
You need to make the following points:
1)The views of the Traditional Owners of the Jabiluka site on Kakadu
must be taken with the utmost seriousness.
2)The Australian Government response to the UNESCO mission report on
the other hand, contains major errors of both fact and
interpretation, and cannot be regarded as a credible document.
3)The traditional owners of the jabiluka site the Mirrar/Gundjehmi,
are now faced with an immediate threat to the Boyweg/Almudj sacred
site complex, as a result of construction work at Jabiluka that
continues in defience of last years World heritage Committee
reccommendation for an immediate cessation of construction.
4)Babbitt should formally ask the Australian government to stop
construction as per the reccommendation of the world heritage
committee meeting in Kyoto last year.
5)He should also ask the World heritage secretariat, via the US
delegation, to take immediate action to request the same of the
Australian government.
6)The US should vote and actively lobby for Kakadu National park to
be finally listed as 'In Danger' in Paris in June/July.
You may also wish to fax the Australian government, and simply ask
them to implement the reccommendation of the December '98 World
Heritage Committee meeting in Kyoto, that construction work at
jabiluka cease.
The number of the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard is : 61-2-
6273-4100.
The minister for the Environment, Senator Hill is on: 61-2-6273-6101.
The number of the NT Chief Minister is: 61-8-8981-1621.
Statements of solidarity should be sent to: mirrar@topend.com.au