Swiss green activist feared dead in Borneo
© 2000 Reuters
December 22, 2000
ZURICH - Supporters of Swiss environmental activist Bruno Manser said on Thursday they believe he died after returning to Borneo in May to continue his campaign against logging in rain forests.
Malaysian police say there is no evidence that Manser, who was deported last year and barred from re-entering, was in the country.But the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) insisted he had crossed into Sarawak state from Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, before disappearing.
"We are resigned," BMF Secretary John Kuenzli said.
"If Bruno Manser were still alive, he would have been found."
Sarawak's Penan nomads, whose cause Manser had championed, had come across no trace of the 47-year-old activist, he said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in July described Manser as a fanatic with a hidden agenda. He has long been a thorn in the side of the local timber industry.
Kuenzli said the search now concentrated on finding Manser's equipment. "We want to have clarity above all," he added.
If Manser had met with an accident, his remains were unlikely to be found after months in the rain forest, Kuenzli said, adding the suspicion of murder would arise if he had disappeared without a trace.