JakartaPost-Nov 19, 2021

Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, already one of the most influential men in government, looks intent on showing the limit of his power. Amid an ongoing defamation lawsuit against two human rights activists, Luhut has demanded a financial audit of Greenpeace Indonesia in an apparent response to its criticism of government deforestation claims. The former Army general has accused Greenpeace of spreading misinformation in its criticism of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s speech at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 1. In the speech, Jokowi said Indonesia had managed to bring the deforestation rate to a two-decade low, a claim the environmental watchdog rejected. Greenpeace noted that according to official data, the rate of deforestation had, in fact, increased from 2011 to 2019. Luhut questioned the credibility of the group’s statement, which he claimed was contrary to the government’s findings and data from international organizations. On Nov. 12, he threatened the watchdog with a financial audit. Read more at:

https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2021/11/18/litigative-luhut-demands-audit-of-greenpeace-indonesia.html.