Greenpeace peacefully occupied British military vehicles today
as part of an ongoing global campaign against war in Iraq. In the
latest action to stop a U.K. military attack, fourteen Greenpeace
activists entered Southampton’s Marchwood Military Port and
occupied tanks and jeeps queued up to leave on the roll-on/roll-off
ferry Stena Shipper en route to Iraq.
Four of the protestors climbed into tanks and secured the
hatches behind them. All of these activists were arrested,
including Ashby Smith a Ft. Collins, Colorado native who works for
the Greenpeace campaigner program in Washington, D.C.
Speaking today at an anti-war press conference in Washington,
D.C., John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace in the
United States, said, “Greenpeace is opposed to all war. We believe
that the best path toward security and peace is to reduce our
dependence on oil and promote the development and use of clean
energy.” The press conference was sponsored by a coalition of U.S.
groups opposed to war in Iraq. These groups believe that the war on
Iraq is motivated in part by the U.S.’ dependence on Middle East
oil.
Greenpeace has taken action in Great Britain because Prime
Minister Tony Blair has been the Bush Administration’s closest and
most important ally in its threatened war on Iraq, despite the fact
that the majority of Britons oppose a war.
For over a week, Greenpeace has been trying to stop the build up
of the U.K. military machine. On Monday, January 27, Greenpeace’s
flagship, the Rainbow Warrior,
blockaded the Southampton port to prevent military supply ships
from leaving. Two days later, Greenpeace activists boarded the MV
Lyra as she lay anchored in the Solent with a cargo of military
vehicles. Both protests ended in the face of extreme weather
conditions. On Saturday, February 2, the Rainbow Warrior resumed
its peace blockade of the military docks until the ship was stormed
by police who cut her anchor chain and used powerful tugs to force
the ship away from the area.
This latest peaceful protest by
Greenpeace is part of a global campaign to prevent a military
attack on Iraq that could kill thousands of people, devastate the
environment, and increase the chances of weapons of mass
destruction being used. Since its inception, Greenpeace has
actively worked to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and
promote non-violent solutions to problems.
