Greenpeace activists return to confront US war preparations in Belgium port

Press release - 17 February, 2003

Ten Greenpeace activists climbed onto the harbour's lock gates and sealed it shut to prevent four ships loaded with US military equipment bound for the Gulf leaving the harbour and a US navy vessel entering it to be loaded.

The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior returned to Antwerp harbour late this afternoon to further confront US military preparations as part of Greenpeace's continuing opposition to the impending war in Iraq.

At 18.00 hrs CET, while Kofi Annan was meeting with European heads of government at the emergency Summit in Brussels, the Rainbow Warrior sailed into Antwerp port. Ten Greenpeace activists climbed onto one of the harbour's lock gates to seal it shut.

Other activists drove inflatable boats across the opening of the second lock gate to prevent four ships loaded with US military equipment bound for the Gulf leaving the harbour and a US navy vessel entering it to be loaded. Several activists have been arrested.

"This weekend, the people of Europe and the world showed their overwhelming opposition to the war. European leaders must now listen to their citizens. So called 'preventive war' is prohibited by the United Nations Charter. We're looking to European leaders to stand up for international law and make it clear that this war would be illegal, disastrous and wrong," said Jan Vade Putte of Greenpeace, speaking in Antwerp at the protest.

"We are also horrified that the US is prepared to use illegal chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq, and demand to know whether such weapons are being shipped through Belgian ports or any other European harbours," he added.

US Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has made clear to Congress that he is preparing to use so called non-lethal chemical weapons as part of his attack on Iraq. The use of these weapons is illegal under the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention and the Geneva Convention.

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