Thousands of Indonesian people staged a peaceful rally in the North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado today to observe the Earth Day which falls on April 22. According to Indonesian news agency ANTARA, the demonstrators who claimed to be members of the people's coalition for peace and environmental conservation consisted of farmers, fishermen, environmental activists and members of the Agrarian reform control committee and the Minahasa communal council. They marched from the Marina Plaza to the gubernatorial office calling for a crackdown on activities which had an adverse effect on the environment. The rally's coordinator, Benny Rhamdani, said the systematic exploitation of natural resources had enriched a handful of people at the expense of people at large. -- SPA
