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ACTIVISTS SILENCED IN THE AMAZON
Police escorted the eight Greenpeace activists from a remote town in the Brazilian Amazon on Wednesday after hundreds of loggers and townspeople besieged them overnight in protest against an anti-global warming campaign.The activists were there with legal permission by the government to remove a dead tree that had been burned by loggers, but instead, they were quickly confronted by an angry mob, and forced to take shelter in the nearby office of the Brazilian environmental protection agency (Ibama).Greenpeace intended to use the dead Brazil nut tree as part of a public exhibition exposing Amazon destruction and its contribution to global warming. Greenpeace was granted government permission to collect the dead tree, however, the public land itself has been illegally cleared and burnt by these same loggers.Government Sides with Loggers
Today, the Brazilian government gave in to the loggers, and revoked Greenpeace’s license to remove, transport and exhibit the valuable and protected Brazil nut tree, which is now in custody of the loggers in the local town square. Many loggers remain outside the offices where the Greenpeace expedition team escaped to yesterday afternoon.Greenpeace, in cooperation with nine other groups, two weeks ago launched a proposal for a national agreement to end Amazon deforestation at an event attended by the Brazilian Minister of Environment and State Governors. The proposal seeks a broad commitment from the Brazilian government and civil society to create measures to ensure urgent protection for the Amazon rainforest.Safety Not Guaranteed
Greenpeace activists are still in danger and demands that the expedition team be provided with local, state and federal security, in order to be able to return home safely. Security is still not guaranteed for Greenpeace activists.Greenpeace is also urging the Brazilian government to allow them to take the Brazil nut tree as agreed, so that they can continue with their expedition and highlight the urgent need to stop deforestation, and combat climate change.
Amazon Destruction must not go Unnoticed
The tree was to be part of an exhibition exposing the destruction of the Amazon and its contribution to climate change, since deforestation is responsible for three quarters of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, and makes the country the fourth largest climate polluter in the world.
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