Feature story - November 9, 2011
On Monday Greenpeace activists peacefully protested against the construction of Kusile coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga. They did this by chaining themselves to the front gate, and also accessing a crane on the site, scaling it, and dropping a banner that read ‘Kusile: Climate Killer’.
Activists Confront Eskom's Kusile Coal-Fired Plant
Action at Kusile Power Station in Africa
Speaking on Tuesday on SABC’s ‘Morning Live’ programme, Steve Lennon Eskom’s Corporate Services Managing Director claimed that the Greenpeace activists threatened security guards, and that they had weapons when they went onto the construction site.
“Eskom has clearly been deeply humiliated by the fact that activists peacefully gained access to the site so easily, and that they were onsite for approximately two hours before security or site management knew they were there. Greenpeace has obviously hit a nerve, but now as a result, Eskom is fabricating allegations about so-called ‘violent’ action by the activists on Monday” said Olivia Langhoff, Greenpeace Africa Campaigns Director.
“Embarrassment is not a reason for fabricating false information. All Greenpeace activists were peaceful during the protest, had no weapons, and no security guards were threatened at any stage. Any information to the contrary being circulated by Eskom is a lie”.
“Eskom consistently stated that the protest was peaceful, and it was only after the arrests were made that the allegations of violence were levelled against the activists. Greenpeace Africa takes the allegations of violence during the protest very seriously, as it is an attack on one of the core-values of the organisation – which is that of non-violence. We are examining our legal options” continued Langhoff.
Greenpeace is a strictly non-violent environmental activist organisation – on a mission to expose crimes against the world we live in and find solutions to the damage being caused. We hold governments and corporations accountable when they fail to safeguard our environment and our future. In pursuing our mission, we have no permanent allies or enemies.
Greenpeace Africa has been present in South Africa since 2008, and campaigns for an Energy [R]evolution to end South Africa’s addiction to dirty and risky energy such as coal and nuclear in the struggle against dangerous climate change.
This campaign is based on scientific research, dialogue, lobbying and peaceful protest.
- For more images from the Kusile Action, click here