Press release - 17 March, 2003
Greenpeace activists placed giant oil drums in front of the US
Embassy in Berlin and the U.S.Consulates of Hamburg and Munich
today. The environmental organisation launched an appeal to collect
oil donations in Germany to help the US government to solve its
perceived energy crisis and reduce its dependency on oil.
A total of 60 environmentalists participated in a launch to
collect oil donations throughout the country in protest against a
possible US invasion of Iraq.
"There are many reasons why the Bush administration wants to go
into battle," says Greenpeace's spokesperson, Andreas Bernstorff,
in Munich. "Hunger for oil is one. We are collecting oil now so
that the Americans don't have to attack Iraq - and everyone can
participate."
Greenpeace opposes war because of its devastating human and
environmental consequences. The last Gulf war killed two hundred
thousand people and left many of the survivors malnourished,
diseased, and dying. Damage to ecosystems in the area continued for
years after the war ended.
"A war is also not the way to dealing with weapons of mass
destruction. There is a need for global disarmament from weapons of
mass destruction but this must be achieved through peaceful
diplomatic negotiations," added Bernstorff. "Instead of blocking
progress on disarmament and verification, the U.S. and the U.K.
should start by implementing their own commitments to abolish these
weapons and, meanwhile, give the weapons inspectors the time they
need to disarm Iraq."