Archbishop Desmond Tutu visits the Greenpeace ship MV Esperanza today.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited the Greenpeace ship, the
Esperanza, to give his blessing to the vessel and crew and joined
them in wishing for a clean, nuclear free future as they continue
their work in the run up to the Earth Summit next week.
The Archbishop made a private tour of the Esperanza, which has
recently returned from a four-day voyage into the Southern Ocean to
protest the passage of a deadly cargo of plutonium off South
Africa.
The Noble Peace prizewinner told the crew "Thank you for your
work for peace and for a nuclear free world, it is wonderful and we
thank you."
One of the key demands that Greenpeace will put to all Heads of
State attending the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, is a requirement
that they should reject climate changing and dirty energy policies
- the fossil fuel and nuclear industries.
Governments at the Summit must make a commitment to divert the
annual $250 million subsidies from dirty power and invest in
sustainable energy systems such as solar, wind and wave technology,
which could bring electricity to the 2 billion people - one third
of the planet - who currently have access to none.
"One day, down the line people will say, why did it happen?"
said the Archbishop on the deck of the Esperanza. "It will be
because of the contribution of you and you," he added pointing to
the crewmembers. He then thanked them "for the people of today and
the people of tomorrow who are not yet born, but who, because of
what you are doing, will be able to live in a world that is
clean."
The blessing from Archbishop Tutu was the first for the
Esperanza, the newest ship in the Greenpeace fleet. His visit
echoed a visit made to her sister ship, the Rainbow Warrior, by His
Holiness, the Dalai Lama, during the first Earth Summit in Rio ten
years ago.
The Archbishop spent nearly an hour on board and was presented
with a Greenpeace book documenting the 30-year history of the
international environmental group's protest in photos, and two
Greenpeace T-shirts bearing the logo "Choose Positive Energy" and
"Stop Plutonium Terror".
VVPR info: Photos and Video available though the Greenpeace Earth Summit Office in Johannesburg:Photos: Steve Morgan (+27) 828583449, Video: David Woolford (+27) 828583110