Permanent Closure of TPL in Bona Called for by Ecumenical Secretariat for Ecological Justice

The call for the permanent closure of PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) grew stronger and echoed during the Bona Taon Thanksgiving celebration of the Joint Secretariat of the Ecumenical Movement for Ecological Justice in North Sumatra, held at the HKBP Jetun Silangit Youth Camp, Pohan Tonga Village, Siborongborong District, North Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra.

The call was made after the Bona Taon thanksgiving service—a Christian tradition to welcome the new year—which this time served as a space for collective reflection on the prolonged ecological crisis in the Lake Toba region and its surroundings.

The General Chairperson stated that the Joint Secretariat was formed as a coordination forum for cross-organizational environmental groups, indigenous communities, and ecological justice activists in North Sumatra to unite the struggle for environmental rescue.

It was explained that the Joint Secretariat was born in November 2025 as a continuation of a joint movement that also involved church leaders in North Sumatra as mentors.

Exploitation of Nature
In a speech, it was emphasized that the Bona Taon celebration is not merely about marking the change of the calendar, but is a moment for reflection on the ecological wounds continually inherited due to the exploitation of nature.

“The once fertile land has now become a wound. The once clear water has turned into a threat. This is not God’s will, but the result of human greed,” was stated.

It was argued that the recurring floods and landslides are not sudden events, but an accumulation of long-ignored warnings. According to the speech, the voices of the community, academics, environmental activists, clergy, and religious figures have repeatedly called for the cessation of environmentally destructive companies, but are often sidelined for the interests of a few.

“Now nature has taken over the pulpit. It cries out through floods, landslides, swept-away houses, buried rice fields, and the tears of the common people. This scream can no longer be silenced,” it was said.

There was an urgent call for the government to act decisively and side with life, no longer issuing compromise policies that harm the people and the environment.

“The decision needed is one that is just, brave, and thinks long-term,” it was stated.

An open call was also made to business actors who have long enjoyed profits from the exploitation of nature to take real responsibility.

“We are not begging for disaster aid. What we demand is fair compensation and genuine environmental restoration,” was emphasized.

According to the speech, the struggle does not stop at closing the operations of environmentally destructive companies, but also ensures real ecosystem restoration—from protecting river headwaters, restoring forests, to returning living space for communities and wildlife.

At the end of the speech, a loud moral call was voiced: “Close TPL, close TPL, close TPL!”