After a nearly 4-hour dialogue… The Forestry Bureau's Reply:
The Forestry Bureau's Reply:
According to the Section 4, Article 15 of The Forestry Act “ the forest is located in the traditional territory of aboriginal people, the aboriginal people may take forest products for their traditional living needs. The harvesting area, variety, time, paid/unpaid, and other rules should be decided by the central government agency along with the Council of Indigenous peoples'Affair. However the details of the management regulations of the law, such as a clear content of traditional territory and customs, are not yet decided. It has to be decided by the central government departments including Council of Indigenous Peoples'Affairs. Therefore, we don't need to apologize! Besides, the Verdict is made by the Judge, not by the Bureau.
The Smangus Representatives (ten people including village chief, key villagers, Tayal leaders, and the scholars) responded:
Dr. Yih-Ren Lin of Providence University, on behalf of the Smangus, made an effort to summarize a nearly 4- hour dialogue between both sides and, suggested that,
It is the representatives’ agreement that the Bureau of Forestry should admit that the Bureau does not fully understand that complexities of the ways Forestry Act takes into account the spirit of indigenous traditional territory and custom. For that reason, the Forestry Bureau should not consider this case an offense of larceny before the court.
After the Forestry Bureau requested instructions from higher authorities, they came back to the conclusion in written words. “We realize that Smangus could consider this wind-fall beech case with the spirit of Article 15 of the Forestry Act. Therefore, when you appeal to a higher court, our staff could help clarify your thinking.”
However, the Bureau did not clearly express their respect and consent to the spirit of Article 15, but acknowledged the Smangus peoples'understanding only. After a discussion amongst Smangus representatives, Chief Icyeh called an end to the dialogue. The representatives left the meeting room and announced to the villagers and concerned people in front of the Bureau building, “No Consensus”, and vowed to fight to the end.
After the confrontation with the Forestry Bureau, Reverend Atung closed the meeting of Smangus Action Alliance with a prayer, believing that whatever the outcome is, we will fight for the good cause.For more information in English, please go to http://smangus.blogspot.com/
We need YOU to help our Smangus friends to ask for the respect and rights that they deserve!!!
If you are willing to help in any way, please leave your message on the above blog sites. We will contact you via telephone or email.
Arranged by Ruei-Ling Chen
Translated by Yi-Ling Huang
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