“We stand against mining – to the end!”
Indonesia: Petitions and campaigns take courage and perseverance. After eight years of resistance to gold mining, the people of Beutong presented a letter in parliament on June 18 – supported by 87 organizations from around the world.
In truth, we hold this land in trust for our children and grandchildren. We want to pass it on intact, not logged and destroyed.
We are often asked: What happens to the petitions? Does my signature really help? Our answer: Sometimes a petition attracts immediate attention. More often, a petition needs more: dialogue with the recipients, media appearances, public actions and, not infrequently, campaigns that last for years.
Take the petition NO to a gold mine in Sumatra’s tiger forest in Beutong Ateuh District, at the heart of the Leuser Ecosystem. Launched in late 2023, it has been signed by almost 90,000 people around the world.
That petition has been formally presented twelve times. Most recently, in September 2025, local women’s, youth and environmental groups presented it with 85,196 signatures to the governor of Aceh and the provincial parliament. Twelve handovers – a record! This extraordinary public commitment shows how resolutely people are defending their rainforest and how much the petition matters to them.
Has it made a difference? Yes, because the company that planned to build the gold mine has vanished without a trace. And no, because we learned that two other companies have secured permits for gold mining. The people of Beutong were neither asked nor consulted. In the face of all this, the people have now written a letter to the president on May 1, 2026: No to gold mining in the forest of Beutong.
Since then, they have protested every day, been featured on television and radio, taken part in seminars and university events, and produced a film about their Indigenous system of forest protection and the Master of the Forest.
Eighty-seven organizations have also written to the president in solidarity with those resisting the destruction.
Deeply concerned about Aceh’s forests, the Leuser Ecosystem and the Ulu Masen Ecosystem, as well as the future of generations to come on our planet, and in solidarity with the people of Beutong Ateuh
The letter to the president at the provincial parliament
On June 18, 2026, a delegation representing local women’s, youth and environmental groups discussed the issue of gold mining with the provincial parliament and formally handed over the letter.
- After eight years of resistance, the issuance of mining permits remains opaque.
- The right of Indigenous Peoples to Free, Prior and Informed Consent is consistently ignored.
- The importance of the Leuser Ecosystem for biodiversity and the climate is being deliberately ignored, as are the
- risks of disasters such as landslides, floods and earthquakes, and the historical significance of Beutong Ateuh.
- Real solutions, the delegation says, include forest use and forest protection under Indigenous law, and environmentally friendly, sustainable agriculture that enables people to live in dignity.
- Official recognition of the Indigenous territory is urgently needed.
A detailed account of the parliamentary discussion can be found on our Indonesian website.
"The struggle of the people of Beutong Ateuh is a symbol of the larger question:
Will the state, in the face of the global climate crisis, stand with the people protecting the forest, or with investors – sacrificing history, the environment and the future?"
This is the site of the mass grave of soldiers who fought alongside resistance leader Cut Nyak Dhien and were killed by Dutch troops in 1899. Another mass grave contains dozens of civilians killed by the Indonesian military in 1999 – a tragedy considered a serious human rights crime.
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Protecting rainforests and peatlands in the Leuser ecosystem
APEL Green Aceh defends Leuser’s peatlands and tiger forests, led by Indigenous “masters of the forest”, women and young people.
Indonesia: NO to a gold mine in Sumatra’s tiger forest!
A proposed gold mine threatens the Leuser Ecosystem and with it tigers, elephants, rhinos and orangutans. Please support the environmentalists on Sumatra.
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The romantic notion of gold prospecting has little in common with today’s mining operations. Find out about the environmental cost of our lust for gold – and what we can do to stop the insanity.