lawsuits
A Small Victory for the Semai
The Perak High Court in Ipoh, Malaysia, recently extended a temporary restraining order that prevents two companies from proceeding with the construction of a hydroelectric dam on a river that is part of the ancestral territory of the local Semai people. A news story last year on November 13, as well as a more recent […]
Semai Strategies for Protecting their Lands
A group of Semai residents in Malaysia’s Perak State are continuing a legal struggle against two developers who are seeking to construct a hydroelectric dam on a river in their ancestral territory. A Malaysian news report of November 3 brought the controversy, which has been covered in the news over the last several years, up […]
Amish File Lawsuit
An Amish man in upstate New York has filed a lawsuit in a local court to exempt his three kids from vaccinations, which a recent state law has mandated for all school children. Among a host of news reports published on October 21 about the development, an Associated Press story reported by Syracuse.com and another […]
Dam Builders May Triumph After All
Malaysia’s Perak state has decided to go ahead with the construction of a hydropower dam on the Geruntum River, despite the fact that it will harm the lands of a group of Semai villages. The Semai in the town of Gopeng have expressed their opposition to the dam-building project since it was first announced by […]
Judge Orders Invaders Out of Ju/’hoansi Lands
Judge Thomas Masuku of the High Court of Namibia in Windhoek has ordered Herero farmers to remove their livestock from Ju/’hoansi communal lands near Tsumkwe. The judge issued his order on Friday, August 10, and it was released, according to a news report in The Namibian, on August 15. The news story describes the background […]
Semai May Have Achieved their Goals
Peaceful Semai protests about a dam construction project that has caused destruction in their communities appear to be helping their cause. The Orang Asli people living along the Geruntum River in the town of Gopeng, in Malaysia’s Perak State, received a lot of news coverage when the contractors destroyed their crops plus some of their […]
Semai Take the Government to Court
Protests by the Semai over the construction of a hydroelectric dam that is destroying their forests, waters, and livelihoods have been increasing over the past couple of months. Numerous news sources in Malaysia have been covering the developments in six Orang Asli villages located in the town of Gopeng, in Perak State. A news story […]
Ju/’hoansi Hire Lawyers for Assistance
The Ju/’hoansi Traditional Authority announced last week that they have engaged some lawyers to help them regain control over their lands in Namibia. A report in the New Era newspaper on Tuesday the 27th provided a brief catalog of the wrongs they have suffered from invaders who have occupied some of their lands. Government actions […]
Hutterite Colony Sued Due To Negligence
A Hutterite colony in South Dakota, accused of negligence for not properly controlling the behavior of its teenagers, has settled a wrongful death suit out of court. The settlement occurred just a few days before the civil trial was scheduled to begin at the federal district court in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Argus Leader of […]
Hutterites Compelled to Protect a Wetland
A Hutterite Colony in South Dakota has agreed to abide by an order issued by a U.S. District Court judge to restore a wetland that it had illegally drained and tried to farm. With the U.S. fixated on the month-long armed occupation of a National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, at least the news media in […]
