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Malaysia court blocks development company from destroying indigenous homes

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Malaysia's Kuching High Court has issued an injunction to stop a company from destroying the homes of indigenous Malaysians. Last week, state-government agents began tearing down Iban houses on land controlled by the native Iban people at the request Tatau Land Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of ASSAR Group, a government-owned holding company seeking to develop the land. Between 25 and 30 houses were destroyed. The injunction, issued Monday, prohibits Tatau Land and government agencies from entering the Iban land until at least February 9, when the court will conduct a full hearing. A number of indigenous people have attempted to assert land rights in recent years. In August, an indigenous Indonesian tribe sued a subsidiary of US mining company Freeport-McRoRan Copper & Gold, claiming it owned the land the company was mining. In May, the Swedish Sami Association brought a lawsuit against Sweden's government, claiming the state was violating Sami hunting rights. In March, Brazil's Supreme Court expelled 200 rice farmers from an area of land, ruling that the land belonged to indigenous peoples. In 2008, the New Zealand government and several Maori groups signed a deed of settlement worth nearly NZ $196 million to resolve certain indigenous claims concerning land taken by British settlers in the 19th century.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 29, 2010 (boomark / email).